KFC in Hanoi

KFC sets up at focal point of avian flu crisis
Vietnamese customers crowd new restaurant
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HANOI, Vietnam -- American fast food chain KFC opened its first restaurant in Hanoi this month and said it plans to expand its operations elsewhere in northern Vietnam.

People packed the 120-seat restaurant during lunchtime on the opening day last week, and many had to line up to get their food.

"It's a very good start," said Nguyen Chi Kien, deputy general director of KFC Vietnam. "Hanoi is a huge potential market for KFC."

Kien said the company plans to open three more restaurants in the capital by the end of this year and looks to open several more in other northern cities.

KFC opened its first restaurant in Vietnam in 1997 in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern commercial hub, and now operates 19 restaurants there and one in neighboring Dong Nai province, Kien said.

Hanoi, a city of about 3.5 million people, has domestically owned chain restaurants and coffee shops, but KFC is the first U.S. fast food brand to enter the market.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., is the parent of fast food chains KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

The opening of KFC's first restaurant in Hanoi comes as Vietnam continues to battle the H5N1 bird flu virus. The country has suffered the highest number of human deaths in the world, but mass poultry vaccinations coupled with strong political will have slowed the spread of the virus. Vietnam has not reported any outbreaks in poultry since December and no human cases since November.

Kien declined to comment on the impact of bird flu on the company's business, but said all the chickens supplied by Thai CP Vietnam group must meet KFC's standards.



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