Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, a quick service chicken restaurant, will increase its global presence as it plans to develop and open more than 1,500 restaurants in the People’s Republic of China over the next 10 years.
Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the parent company of Popeyes, announced that it had reached an agreement to develop those restaurants in China in partnership with TFI TAB Food investments (TFI), a leading quick service restaurant operator in Turkey and China.
“We’re very excited to grow the Popeyes brand in the Chinese market,” said Josh Kobza, chief operating officer of RBI. “We look forward to bringing our great tasting chicken, biscuits, sides and beautiful new restaurants to our guest in China with our partner, TFI TAB Food Investments.”
TFI CEO and Vice Chairman Korhan Kurdoglu added: “We are proud to bring this famous brand to China and we look forward to introducing its bold new flavors to our guests. We plan to build on years of experience of growing successful businesses in China and around the world.”
Presently, the Popeyes system operates more than 3,100 locations in more than 25 countries worldwide, with a particularly strong presence in the U.S. and Canada.
RBI is also the parent company of Burger King and Tim Hortons. RBI operates about 26,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries and U.S. territories.
Popeyes was acquired by RBI in 2017 at a price of roughly $1.8 billion.
Other international expansion for Popeyes
The decision to expand Popeyes into China follows an earlier decision to grow the Popeyes brand in Spain, with the aim of becoming the market leader. The company announced its plans for a presence in Spain on May 31. RBI will work in partnership with franchisee Gregorio Jimenez.
The company also earlier announced its intent to expand the Popeyes chain into Brazil.
Speaking during a quarterly earnings call in April 2018, RBI CEO Daniel Schwartz revealed plans for a franchise agreement to bring Popeyes into South America’s largest country. He said at the time the company was also looking at expanding into other markets, but did not disclose what markets those were.
