Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The Republican presidential race is down to two, Spelman College receives a $100 million donation, and the CEOs of China’s KFC and Taco Bell say Chinese customers are still buying from American brands. Have a fulfilling Monday!
– The politics of fast food. Joey Watt was born in China and moved to Hong Kong at the age of nine. He spent 10 years of his career working in England, launching the Superdrug and Savers brands. Then she received a call inviting her to rebuild another brand, her KFC China.
In 2016, Yum! Brands, which operates KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, had decided to spin off the Chinese version of its restaurants and form Yum China. KFC’s stores needed to be improved and the company needed to build a digital business. The opportunity to run the new company came at the perfect time for Watt. She wanted to return to China so her son, who grew up in England, could better learn the language. In 2018, Watt became CEO of Yum China, which now has revenues of $9.5 billion. This job ranked her 83rd. luckLast year’s most powerful women list.
Hmm! The brand separated its Chinese restaurants because they operated under a completely different business model, Watt explained on a recent episode. luck Podcast “Leadership Next”. In the U.S., Taco Bell and Pizza Hut stores are typically franchised, but Yum China operates most of its own stores.
luck
There are other differences as well. About 60% of the food sold at his KFC in China is made in the oven rather than frying. Outside of China, Watt says not all of his KFC kitchens have ovens. Currently, Yum China has expanded to 14,000 restaurants in 1,900 cities. Approximately 10,000 of those restaurants are his KFC, representing about a third of his KFC stores worldwide.
In the podcast, luck CEO Alan Murray said Watt is a Chinese company that “runs a lot of very American brands.” Watt says there is no sign that Chinese customers are turning away from American brands amid U.S.-China tensions.
Many international brands have reported weak revenue from Chinese consumers, citing a slow recovery from the coronavirus after restrictions are eased in the second half of 2022. Watt argues that even in a tough consumer economy, fast food companies still have a long way to go. Reaching one-third of China’s population.
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
emma hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_Emma Hinchliffe
The broadsheet is luck’A newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Subscribe here.
Also featured in the headline
– then it became two. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination this weekend, turning the race into a battle between Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump. Despite Trump’s clear lead in the polls, Haley’s team has sought to cast the race as a two-person contest. NBC News
– Modify the field. Sam Mewis, who once won the title of best female soccer player in the world, has officially retired due to complications from a knee injury sustained on the field seven years ago. Mewis, who is just 31 years old, is the editor-in-chief of women’s soccer at the Men in Blazers Media Network, where she aims to expand coverage of the sport. wall street journal
– Great gift. Spelman College, a women’s HBCU, received a $100 million gift from billionaires Rhonda Stryker and her husband, the school announced last week. Spellman said the donation is the largest in HBCU history and the majority will go toward scholarships. luck
– Frozen frenzy. Thousands of women have signed up to learn more about egg freezing programs. Up to 300,000 yen ($2,025) will be subsidized for egg freezing programs. The government expected 200 women to enroll in the initiative, which aims to raise the country’s low birth rate. bloomberg
– Join forces. Israel’s military action in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack effectively ended a long-standing debate over whether women should be allowed to participate in combat.a A majority of men and women now support increasing the number of women in combat roles. new york times
on my radar
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The disturbing precision of Jacqueline Novak’s comedy new yorker
Malia Obama makes her first film debut at Sundance, hoping the film will make people “feel a little less alone” vanity fair
parting words
“I’m feeling as I flow and learning as I go. I follow my heart. And the unknown is so scary. But I’m also excited.”
—Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore on building a new life outside of surfing