Fast food corporation Yum! Brands Inc on Wednesday said its brand KFC reported a decline of 2 per cent in terms of system sales growth in India in the first quarter ended March 31. This comes after the QSR chain had reported 13 consecutive quarters of positive system sales growth in double digits in India.

System sales is a metric similar to same store sales measured through sales at outlets operational for at least a year. Out-of-home consumption channels have been adversely impacted due to the lockdown.

Samir Menon, Managing Director, KFC India, said this was due to subdued growth in March and softness in demand due to the lockdown on account of Covid-19. “We continue to operate around the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with our delivery business only amidst the lockdown situation in the country as we comply with all regulatory directives. The safety, health and well-being of our employees and customers continue to be our topmost priority,” he said.

Multiplexes and malls, were one of the first establishments, that were asked to shut down by State and local authorities even before a nationwide lockdown was put in place on March 24 to curb Covid-19 spread. A sizable number of restaurants and eateries are located in malls.

In early April, KFC India resumed operations in 116 restaurants, for only delivery purposes, in partnership with food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato. It currently has over 450 restaurants in the country.

Meanwhile, Yum! Brands Inc-owned Pizza Hut, reported a decline of 6 per cent in system sales growth in the first quarter in India. On its brand Taco Bell, Ankush Tuli, Managing Director, Taco Bell APAC, said, “For the quarter ending March (Q1 2020), Taco Bell India recorded positive system sales growth. While we continue to operate in the current COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of our employees and customers has been, and continues to be of highest priority at Taco Bell.”

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