KFC shows how to change Myanmar's eating habits

YANGON -- For international restaurant chains, the race is on to get into Myanmar. Following the recent opening of a KFC restaurant, Japanese trading house Sojitz Group announced a partnership with a Myanmar company to provide logistics for refrigerated deliveries of temperature-sensitive foods.

A crowd gathers outside Myanmar's first KFC, in Yangon.

     Myanmar's first KFC opened July 7 in the Yangon commercial hub of Bogyoke Aung San Market. A long line quickly snaked out the door, and it has yet to disappear. Inside, workers in black shirts and red hats tear around the 240-seat eatery. "When I travel to Bangkok for business," Thein Htut, a Yangon-based consultant, said with a big smile, "I always go to KFC restaurants there. Now I can go to one near my office."
     The Yangon KFC offers a standard set -- two pieces of fried chicken, french fries and a drink -- for 3,500 kyat ($3). It also does a little fusion, using its chicken in a traditional curry and rice dish that goes for 2,000 kyat. This is on the expensive side. Yangon residents spend an average 1,000 kyat to 1,500 kyat for lunch.
     Yoma Strategic Holdings, a real estate development conglomerate, obtained its KFC franchise license from Yum Brands of the U.S. It plans to open several more KFCs in Myanmar this year.
     At the eatery's grand opening, Melvyn Pun, CEO elect of Yoma Strategic, stressed that KFC will usher Myanmar into its fast-food future. Pun is to be approved as CEO at Yoma Strategic's annual general meeting on July 27.
     Myanmar, which began moving away from direct military rule in 2011, has long been a challenging market for foreign restaurant chains. Street stalls that cook and sell noodles and other dishes as well as small diners that offer curry and other regional specialties have pretty much had the dining-out market to themselves.
     This begun to change when Lotteria opened Myanmar's first foreign fast-food store in April 2013. The South Korean hamburger chain backed up the opening by airing TV ads featuring Sai Sai Kham Leng, a hip-hop celebrity here. The chain now has eight stores in the country.
     Western fast-food chains that might covet Myanmar have also had U.S. sanctions to contend with. The U.S. first slapped economic sanctions on Myanmar in 1997 due to the military government's repression of its democratic opposition. In 2012, the U.S. began easing those sanctions.
     Now as Myanmar steps toward democracy and its ties with the U.S. improve, its market dynamics are changing.

     Yum Brands is even considering introducing Pizza Hut restaurants to the country.

A crowd gathers outside Myanmar's first KFC, in Yangon.

Photo: Nikkei Asian Review

YANGON -- For international restaurant chains, the race is on to get into Myanmar. Following the recent opening of a KFC restaurant, Japanese trading house Sojitz Group announced a partnership with a Myanmar company to provide logistics for refrigerated deliveries of temperature-sensitive foods.
A crowd gathers outside Myanmar's first KFC, in Yangon. Myanmar's first KFC opened July 7 in the Yangon commercial hub of Bogyoke Aung San Market. A long line quickly snaked out the door, and it has yet to disappear. Inside, workers in black shirts and red hats tear around the 240-seat eatery. "When I travel to Bangkok for business," Thein Htut, a Yangon-based consultant, said with a big smile, "I always go to KFC restaurants there. Now I can go to one near my office."
The Yangon KFC offers a standard set - two pieces of fried chicken, french fries and a drink - for 3,500 kyat (S$4). It also does a little fusion, using its chicken in a traditional curry and rice dish that goes for 2,000 kyat. This is on the expensive side. Yangon residents spend an average 1,000 kyat to 1,500 kyat for lunch.
Yoma Strategic Holdings, a real estate development conglomerate, obtained its KFC franchise license from Yum Brands of the US It plans to open several more KFCs in Myanmar this year.
At the eatery's grand opening, Melvyn Pun, CEO elect of Yoma Strategic, stressed that KFC will usher Myanmar into its fast-food future. Pun is to be approved as CEO at Yoma Strategic's annual general meeting on July 27.

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