China will finally be getting its first Popeye's fast-food restaurant in the first quarter of next year. Restaurant Brands International, the company that owns and operates the popular fried chicken establishment, announced the planned opening as part of its expansion strategy to catch up with its rivals in the Chinese market.
Major US fast-food operators such as McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut have been operating in China for decades, giving them a head start in the world's second-largest economy. Restaurant Brands believes that it may still be able to catch up with its competitors in the country, through an aggressive 10-year plan.
For its first branch in China, Restaurant Brands had signed a lease for a 430 square meter space located in the corner of Huahai Middle Road in Shanghai. According to the operator's chief executive officer, Jose Cil, the opening of its first branch is simply the beginning of its much larger plan in the world's most populous nation.
As part of the 10-year expansion plan in China, Restaurant Brands announced that it will be opening more than 1,500 Popeye's restaurants across dozens of cities across the country. The operator believes that the substantial investments involved in its rapid expansion will be well worth it if it can manage to get a share of China's lucrative fast-food market.
The operator is aiming to become China's top chicken brand player through its aggressive expansion strategy. Cil stated that the company considers China to be a critical market and penetrating it will be essential to its future growth.
When it was still with its previous owner, Popeye's had attempted to open its first branch in Beijing in the late 1990s. However, the restaurant later pulled out of the country in 2003. Restaurant Brands International acquired the chain of fried chicken fast-food restaurants in 2017, in a deal that was worth over $1.8 billion.
As of 2018, China's fast food industry is estimated to be worth more than $11.6 billion. The market is currently being dominated by US operators KFC and McDonald's, who entered the country earlier than its competitors. KFC was one of the first to enter the Chinese market in 1987. It was then followed by Mcdonald's, which entered the market in 1990.
Restaurant Brands as a whole has already established its presence in China through its two other restaurant chains. The company opened its first Burger King branch in the country in 2005. In February of this year, the company opened its first Tim Hortons outlet in Shanghai.
