Interview of Nicolas Gabriel

What's the latest news from your company?

KFC France had an exceptional year in 2023 in terms of expansion. We opened a record 40 new restaurants since we first set up in France. As a strong symbol of our growth, we opened our 350th restaurant in Romainville, in October 2023. Our aim is to make our offer available to all French women and men, throughout the country. What's more, it's important to remember that each new restaurant opening creates an average of 40 jobs, which means that by 2023 we have helped to open more than 1,600 positions across the country. And 2024 will be no less ambitious!

 

Can you share with us an innovation that you found interesting or surprising in our sectors?

One innovation that particularly caught my eye in the foodservice sector is the increasing integration of technology into the customer experience. Initiatives such as the use of augmented reality to visualize menus, online ordering facilitated by user-friendly mobile apps right through to social networks and automated ordering kiosks are trends that are transforming the way restaurants interact with their customers. This digitalization is enhancing personalization and improving the customer experience that is increasingly expected.

 

The transformation of commercial spaces is the theme chosen for our 2024 edition of Siec: how does this translate within your company?  

We are committed to continually transforming the KFC France brand to meet the different and ever-changing expectations of consumers. We are deeply committed to transforming our restaurants, our offer and our commitments.

The move upmarket in our restaurants began at the end of 2022 with the opening of KFC Forum les Halles, which saw the introduction of new, differentiating elements in the restaurant. In April 2023, with the KFC Mont de Marsan restaurant, we fully deployed the new RED (Relevant, Easy, Distinctive) concept, which will continue to be used for new openings and a major modernization project across our entire fleet. Our aim is to guarantee a friendly, modern experience for all our customers, so that each time they visit, they will rediscover the codes of our KFC brand and the authenticity that its founder, Colonel Sanders, wished to infuse since the creation of the 1st KFC franchise in 1952.