KFC was one of the first fast-food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, KFC experienced mixed success domestically, as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits distributor , which was taken over by the food and tobacco conglomerate, which later sold the chain. The chain continued to expand overseas, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China.
In 1997, PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which changed Yum! has proved a more focused owner than Pepsi, and although KFC’s number of outlets has declined in the US, the company has continued to grow in Asia, South America and Africa. The chain has expanded to 18,875 outlets across 118 countries and territories, with 4,563 outlets in China alone, KFC’s largest market.
