IZHEVSK, November 16. /TASS/. The buyer of the Russian KFC business will keep the menu, and rename only four items, businessman Konstantin Kotov announced at the Made in Udmurtia forum on Wednesday.
"We will bring back the Rostic’s brand, it will belong to a Russian company. We have reached an agreement that we will keep the full menu and only four items will be renamed in it - the dishes themselves, tastes and quality, which were the components of our brand, will stay as is," Kotov said. He added that for some time, the two brands will co-exist - KFC and Rostic’s.
Previously, the American company Yum! Brands announced the conclusion of an agreement for the sale of the Russian division of KFC to a local franchise operator - the Smart Service company, which is part of the Food Service Group. The co-owners of Food Service are Konstantin Kotov and Andrey Oskolkov.
On November 14, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) received a petition from Smart Service Ltd to acquire the Russian business of KFC. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year.
In total, there are about 1,100 KFC restaurants in Russia. Yam Restaurants Russia LLC, a Yum! Brands division, manages about 70 KFC outlets in the country.
In early March, Yum! Brands announced the suspension of the work of KFC restaurants in Russia. However, franchise outlets were able to continue operating. As the chain's press service reported, most of the restaurants operating in Russia under the KFC brand are managed under franchising agreements and owned by Russian legal entities. These outlets continue to operate as usual.
Earlier, a source close to the acquiring company told TASS that the chain's name would change to Rostic's. After the deal is closed, Yum! Brands will terminate its corporate presence in Russia.