SWOT Analysis of KFC Corporation

KFC Corporation was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952. KFC, also known as  Kentucky Fried Chicken is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC is part of Yum! Brands, Inc (the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with more than 36,000 locations around the world). Every day, KFC serves more than 12 million customers in 109 countries and territories around the world. KFC operates more than 5,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 15,000 units around the world. The SWOT analysis of the KFC Corporation is given below:

Strengths

1. KFC is the world’s biggest chicken restaurant chain and 3rd largest fast-food chain.
2. KFC is a market leader in chicken foods for 50 years. It has more than 50 percent of the market share and has secret recipe of spice and 11 herbs.
3. KFC is a most identifiable brand in chicken/fried food.
4. It has the strong location, store management, motivated work force and franchises.
5. KFC has a good image all over the globe and is globally placed for many years.
6. KFC is focusing on the global strategies to raise its corporation and franchise restaurant base all over the globe.
7. It has a strong distribution network such as outlets in shopping malls, airports, etc.

Weaknesses

1. KFC is not innovative because it serves only the chicken products to the customers. It does not  offer new or differentiated products.
2. KFC fell after the market in offering new products because it was doubling other fast food chains to remain competitive.
3. Mergers with different corporations resulted in big cultural problem for KFC employees such as Merger with PepsiCo.
4. The company is only focusing on few locations and is ignoring to visit or check standards at franchises in different countries. 
5. KFC is facing problems to maintain the higher standards of hygienic food. It is being charged in different countries due to poor standards of hygienic food. Some of the important examples in this regard are given as:

   a.      In 2007, a Taco Bell/KFC outlet in New York City was initiated to be rat infected.
   b..     In 2009, a KFC store in London was also charged with 13 food hygiene fines.
   c.       A court case in 2010 exposed poor hygiene at a KFC store in Sydney, Australia.