KFC Shutters Over 100 Restaurants!

KFC has reduced its operations in Malaysia. It has closed about 20 per cent of its restaurants temporarily. This is after months of persistent pro-Palestine boycott of US-linked businesses triggered by the ongoing war in Gaza.

QSR Brands, which owns and operates the KFC fast-food franchise in Malaysia, is suspending operations of 108 outlets nationwide. The firm sees the boycott as an opportunity to cease some of the KFC store operations that have weighed on its balance sheet.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

“KFC is not on the BDS list of targeted companies. But many Malaysians see any American fast-food operator to be related to Israel including KFC,” said Professor Mohd Nazari Ismail, chairman of pro-Palestinian group Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Malaysia. Since the boycott began in October 2023, KFC has shifted its branding strategy, with signs on their menu boards and fliers emphasising that it is owned by Johor Corporation, which belongs to the Johor state government. To mitigate the impact of the boycott, QSR changed its branding strategy to become more Islamic on its website in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company’s website said its businesses provide “employment opportunities for over 30,000 employees, of whom 86 per cent are Muslims”.

There are more than 600 KFC restaurants in Malaysia, according to the QSR website. In the state of Kedah, 11 outlets have closed. Kelantan state is the worst-hit with nearly 80 per cent, or up to 21 outlets, halting their operations, followed by 15 outlets in Johor. Selangor, the most industrialised state in Malaysia, has 11 branches temporarily closed, 10 of which are located in Malay-majority Shah Alam.

KFC and a few other US-based brands such as Starbucks and McDonald’s have been facing boycotts because of their perceived link to Israel since the war in Gaza started on Oct 7, 2023. KL-listed Berjaya Food, which owns 400 Starbucks stores in Malaysia, reported a net loss of RM42.6 million from October to December 2023, with the owner Vincent Tan reportedly considering taking the company private.

QSR also operates KFC restaurants in Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, as well as more than 480 Pizza Hut stores in Malaysia and Singapore.

Reference:

KFC shutters over 100 restaurants in Malaysia amid pro-Palestine boycott, Zunaira Saieed and Hazlin Hassan, The Straits Times, 30 April 2024