Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Brings Taco Bell Back to China

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Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) is bringing the Taco Bell brand back to China.

Yum! Brands, Inc., YUM, Taco Bell, China

Yum! Brands, Inc.’s China division now operates a single Taco Bell store in Shanghai. The store opened on Monday and it serves the Mexican food chain’s popular menu items. However, the menu items have had some changes made to them to adjust for local tastes.

The new Taco Bell location in China is located near the Oriental Pearl Tower in the Lujiazui area. This puts it in the city’s business district. Micky Pant, the CEO of Yum China, says that the initial response to the location has been positive.

“Taco Bell is an innovative brand with a strong heritage that we believe will resonate well with Chinese millennials,” the Yum China CEO told Nation’s Restaurant News.

Yum! Brands, Inc. is planning to open more Taco Bell locations in China this year. The company’s goal is to open these restaurants in other big cities. It hopes to test local reception to the brand before planning a larger commitment to the country.

This actually isn’t the first time that Yum! Brands, Inc. has introduced China to Taco Bell. It also opened a series of Taco Bell Grande concept stores in the country several years ago. Unfortunately, all of these locations were closed by 2008, reports Eater.

Yum! Brands, Inc.’s decision to bring Taco Bell restaurants to China comes as McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) takes a step back. It is selling the majority stake of its business in the country to financial firm Citic. MCD likely hopes to benefit from continued expansions and fees from franchise locations.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/01/yum-brands-inc-taco-bell-china-yum/.

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