Word: novak
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...market where Chinese food is just called food? Heck, while they're at it, why not sell tacos in Mexico? Yum is doing both, with the test-marketing of East Dawning in Shanghai and the opening of a Taco Bell in Monterrey last fall. Yum's iconoclastic CEO, David Novak, likens it to how Ray Kroc of McDonald's brought hamburgers to America. "I asked, What's the hamburger in China?" he says. "Obviously, it's Chinese food." Except Kroc was an American selling American food to Americans. Is this brilliant, or is Novak half-Kroc...
...capital-consuming, company-owned-and-operated stores in 32 countries instead of franchising them as it does in the U.S. But PepsiCo did set up valuable infrastructure, including supplier relationships and local management teams. "PepsiCo laid down the tracks but hadn't yet taken advantage of the opportunity," says Novak. In swift order, the newly independent Yum (named Tricon Global Restaurants until 2002) pulled its company-run operations out of all but eight countries. Later it focused expansion on three emerging economies (China, India and Russia) and three developed ones (France, Germany and the Netherlands). Over the past seven years...
Pizza and fried chicken are tasty treats, but they're not staples in China like, say, noodles and dumplings--and that's where Yum thinks it can really score. And if a Yank selling egg rolls to the Chinese seems a bit quixotic, then Novak, 55, is the right man for the job. The CEO of Yum since 2000, he's a plain-talking, cheerleading executive who boasts of never having attended business school. He's given to goofy team-building tactics like passing out rubber chickens (and $100) to KFC managers whose stores are performing well. A former...
This time, Novak's idea might be the right one at the right time. The menus at East Dawning restaurants don't offer overtly American fare but still attract Chinese consumers because of the quality and service associated with an American brand. The formula developed by Yum's other banners overseas--cheap food delivered in cheerful surroundings--has provided a welcome mat for the company. Diner Frank Li, a project engineer on a trip from Suzhou, says the restaurant's link to KFC and Pizza Hut is a draw, not a drawback. "Those places are good quality," he says...
Yield has been high, Novak says. Of the students admitted to the program since its inception, only two have declined their offers...