Outside of a declining number of franchisees, few would have noticed – or, in truth, cared – if the KFC brand slipped away and quietly disappeared in the strip mall where failing quick-service chains go to die.
KFC – an abbreviated, truncated moniker that was only a reminder of the glory days of Kentucky Fried Chicken – was all but dead in the competitive fast-food market. Indeed, it was almost as dead as Colonel Harland Sanders, the charismatic founder of the chain who fried his last meal in 1980.
For Yum! Brands, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut were the future....