Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Botswana says it is embarking on a five-year expansion plan that will see the company broaden its operations at both commercial and community level.
KFC Principal Operator, Wynand Pretorius, briefed the media this week and said in addition to increasing the number of outlets, the fast food chain will also source their ingredients from local farmers and producers.
He said that the company has been also initiating a number of corporate social responsibility activities around the county as well as supporting Childline Botswana and the Bill and Melinda Gates home for AIDS.
“In the past 20 years, we have grown with the Botswana market, and there is a large demand for our products and this is an opportunity for us to play bigger role in the community both financially and socially,” said Pretorius.
Furthermore, he stated that KFC is also doing market development strategic plan to look at the whole of Botswana, particularly the urban areas where they are likely to open new outlets.
He added that in the next 12 months, they are expected to develop new stores in Gaborone and one additional opening in Francistown.
He further pointed out that KFC Botswana has donated numerous soccer and netball kits to seven public primary schools in and around Gaborone in a move expected to bolster sporting fortunes at grassroots level.  Pretorius revealed that this came a few months after the fast food outlet ownership transfer to Venture Partners Botswana (VPB), a local company.
“Chicken is more expensive locally and it is cheaper in South Africa and we can produce bread cheaper in Botswana as well as vegetables locally than importing,” he said.
Pretorius said that VPB local company owns KFC Botswana 100 percent and added that the franchisee develops the market. He stated that the franchisee does not allow sub-franchising and also owns the local outlets in Botswana. He pointed out that the model has been changed to make less money but with more stores, adding that it is best for one franchisee to own more stores because of the economy scale.
“In Botswana the market share is about 50 percent of the quick service market and currently the biggest stores are Nandos and Chicken Licken,” said Pretorius.
He also pointed out that on corporate social responsibility, KFC will increase its net of schools to benefit starting in 2013 as well as launching a charity campaign aimed at feeding children later in the year.
“We are where we are today because of the support of our community.┬á It is only fitting that we should support the community by investing in sustainable development,” he stated.
