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LOUISVILLE, KY. - Looking to beef up its multiple branding opportunities beyond its two sister concepts,Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, KFC Corp., based here, inked a deal to test 300 locations with A&W Restaurants over the next five years.
The agreement, which will include both company and franchised restaurants, marks KFC's largest co-branding initiative with a concept not owned by its parent company, Tricon Global Restaurants, also based here, according to Chuck Rawley, president and chief operating officer of the 10,800-unit chicken chain.
Executives for both chains said the inaugural units under the current co-branding pact most likely would open on the West Coast. Both concerns said the pact was fueled in part by the success of several KFC/A&W co-branded units currently operated by a pair of KFC franchisees.
"These two brands merge well," Rawley said. "Both have a strong signature product: KFC's fried chicken and A&W's root beer floats There are a lot of similarities with both being established brands that are old yet contemporary."
KFC, which has a strong dinner business, is looking to A&W to boost lunch sales with its menu of mostly hamburgers and hot dogs and drive snack sales with its root beer floats, according to franchisees
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