Fast food giant KFC will push forward with its expansion into the urban market, with concept stores that break away from the traditional fast-food layout, despite losing a bid for a liquor licence and closing its flagship Parramatta eatery after just six months.
The chain is set to launch another store in the Sydney suburbs in December, in an attempt to reinforce the brand’s metro accessibility and protect the chain from the flood of competition in the “bespoke” fast-food arena.
KFC Australia’s chief marketing and development officer Nikki Lawson insists the brand will not pursue applications for new liquor licences, instead it is taking “learnings” from the Western Sydney store to “try and work out how the brand operates in urban spaces” and to continue innovation.
“We knew Parramatta was a big experiment fairly far away from the core,” Lawson acknowledged. Although the brand was given the green light to sell alcohol if it switched trading names, that was a departure the chain was not prepared to take, opting to stick with the KFC branding and move on.
“Not getting the licence took us a little by surprise. We certainly never go in [to new projects] expecting to fail, but if we’re not testing and having enough failures then we're probably not stretching far enough,” she said.
Lawson revealed that some of the successful elements of the Parramatta store will be carried into the new one.
“The role of design and recycling initiatives were hugely important, but we did realise there are favourite menu items we just couldn't go without,” she said.
Lawson explained that the strategy for 2016 will focus on digital transformation of operating environments, smart technology and smart systems, and connecting with consumers one-to-one through social media.
“We don’t want to be everything to all people, what we want is to be what we can be truly fabulous at,” she said.
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