| Flickr: SamBeckWith |
Fellow fried-chicken serving chain Chick-Fil-A saw a 12 percent increase in 2008.
That's a little misleading because they opened so many new stores, but
even among Chick-Fil-As open one year or more -- the best barometer of
a chain's health -- sales were still up nearly five percent. Popeye's
sales were also down in 2008 (not as much as KFC, though) but the company has decided the biggest problem was slow customer service, not the greasy chicken.
With
Chick-Fil-A and Popeye's both expanding, it's not that people are
eating less fried chicken, it's just they have more options. On some
level KFC understands this and so, in addition to grilled chicken, it's
also rolling out a value menu with 99 cent sandwiches and $1.99 meals.
Finally and most importantly, KFC is thinking about keeping its stores
open later, something they should have been doing for years. I used to live near a street with a KFC on one side of the road and
a McDonald's on the other, both with drive-throughs. It amazed me that
by 9 p.m. on a weekend night, lights would be out at the KFC while the McDonald's had a line of cars around the parking lot. YUM
also owns Taco Bell and they've never had any qualms about keeping
those open late, so it boggles the mind why KFC's have been closing at
the times they do.
Anyway, KFC lovers, get ready for your grilled chicken.
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