The owner of KFC opened 4,200 restaurants in one year, the highest number in the industry

Yum Brand CEO David Gibbs: “I’ve never seen anything like it in 32 years.”

Yum Brands, a transnational corporation and one of the biggest names in the foodservice industry, released its operating results for 2021. CEO David Gibbs said 4,180 new establishments have opened in the past year. 

“In 32 years in this business, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Gibbs commented, speaking at the company’s quarterly shareholder meeting. Yum Brands owns and operates KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut restaurants worldwide. 

According to the study, KFC, a fast-food chain, had the most significant growth. More than 2,400 restaurants have been opened worldwide over the last year. At the same time, approximately 400 establishments were closed. 

As a result, new Yum Brands restaurants opened on average every two hours last year, while KFC restaurants opened every four hours. 

About 40 percent of all new locations were opened by the Kentucky fast-food giant in China. Yum Brands operates approximately 53,000 sites in total (including closures).