After the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Yum! Brands Inc., parent company of KFC, is pausing investment in Russia, a key market that helped the brand achieve record development in 2021.
Yum!, which has at least 1,000 KFC locations and 50 Pizza Hut locations in Russia that are nearly all independent franchisees, said in a post on its website dated March 7th that it had “suspended all investment and restaurant development in Russia while we continue to assess additional options.”
Last year was a record year of development for KFC, led by new restaurants opening in China, India and Russia, executives said during an earnings call on Feb. 9. In Russia, the company was opening about 100 new restaurants annually and had expected to continue a “a similar expansion strategy going forward.”
Many companies have begun to pull their business out of Russia amid sanctions and outrage over the invasion of Ukraine.