SHANGHAI, Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987, the "Company" or "Yum China") celebrated a major milestone for KFC in its Guangzhou market area^[1], opening its 1,000th KFC store in the area.

In conjunction with this milestone, a new side-by-side KCOFFEE cafe was also unveiled, the 100th in Guangdong province, highlighting the growing popularity of this innovative business model. Yum China has expanded this model to over 500 locations nationwide and is on track to open 600 by year-end.

KFC became the first Western quick-service restaurant brand to enter the China market in 1987 with its first store in Beijing's Qianmen neighborhood. The first KFC store in Guangzhou opened in the city's Yuexiu District in 1993. Incorporating not only good food but also Chinese cultural elements helped the brand to win the hearts of Chinese consumers, making KFC a household name across China. Over the past three decades, KFC has expanded to every province and region across the country with over 11,000 stores nationwide.

Over the years, Guangdong has served as an important testing ground for KFC's innovative products and business models. It was one of the first provinces where KFC introduced automated food trucks in parks and scenic areas and launched KFC breakfast kiosks in subway stations. More recently, in October this year, KPRO, KFC's new concept store providing a diverse range of healthy and nutritionally balanced meal choices, opened in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. 

Warton Wang, General Manager of KFC China, commented: "As we continue our growth story in China, KFC will continue to uphold our commitment to serve delicious, high-quality food; provide outstanding customer experience; and care for our customers. Operational efficiency and innovation are dual focus points for us to effectively capture market opportunities and promote sustainable growth. KFC's story in China is still being written and the future will be even more exciting."

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including under "2024 Outlook." We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast," "outlook," "commit" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future strategies, growth, business plans, investments, store openings, capital expenditures, dividend and share repurchase plans, CAGR for system sales, operating profit and EPS, earnings, performance and returns of Yum China, anticipated effects of population and macroeconomic trends, pace of recovery of Yum China's business, the anticipated effects of our innovation, digital and delivery capabilities and investments on growth and beliefs regarding the long-term drivers of Yum China's business. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, changes in public health conditions, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, as well as changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China, and those set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q). In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company has approximately 400,000 employees and operates over 15,000 restaurants under six brands across around 2,200 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain, which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com. 

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SOURCE Yum China Holdings Inc.

Investor Relations Contact: Tel: +86 21 2407 7556, IR@YumChina.com, Media Contact: Tel: +86 21 2407 8288 / +852 2267 5807, Media@YumChina.com