3/16/2015

FastfoodinvasionloomsinYangon

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Monday, 16 March 2015

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Fastfoodinvasionloomsin
Yangon

Yangonhosp
building

ByTimMcLaughlin|Monday,01April2013
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Debtclearances,exchangeratereformandtheabolitionof
ForeignExchangeCertificatesmayhaveobserversexcited
aboutMyanmarseconomicreformsbutonthestreetsof
Yangonitisthearrivalofforeignbrandsthatisdrawingthe
mostattention.

GoldrushatS

Undergradsr

Tradersrebra
Yangon

YCDCgraftco

Whitearmban

Shwedagonm

Zaykabarfiles
politicianove

Cochlearimp

(Thiri/TheMyanmarTimes)

LastmonthapictureofasupposedKentuckyFriedChicken(KFC)outlet
hadsocialmediabuzzingwithspeculationthatColonelSandershadfound
himselfanewhomeonNawadayRoadinDagontownship.
IntheMarch22issueofTheMyanmarTimes,Yum!Brands,whichowns
theKFCnameaswellasTacoBell,PizzaHut,andWingStreet,dispelled
therumourthatitwasbuildingarestaurantalready,butdidsayitwas
hiringstaffinMyanmarforitsnewestKFCTeam.
KFCdidnotrespondtoemailsorcallsseekingfurthercomment.
Thoughthemostrecogniseable,KFCisnotaloneinthefastfoodworldin
itseagernesstoenterMyanmar,acountrywhereconsumershavehadto
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3/16/2015

FastfoodinvasionloomsinYangon

itseagernesstoenterMyanmar,acountrywhereconsumershavehadto
settleforcheapknockoffslikeMacBurgeror,foraluckyfew,grabbinga
tasteoftherealthinginneighbouringcountries.
SouthKoreanfastfoodrestaurantLotteriaplanstoopenanoutletat
JunctionCentreinthesecondweekofApril,saidgeneralmanagerU
MaungMaungKyu.
LotteriaisasubsidiaryofconglomerateLotteGroupandoperatesinSouth
Korea,Japan,Vietnam,ChinaandIndonesia.Therestaurantentered
Vietnamin2004andtheIndonesianmarketin2011.
ThenewlyformedMYKO,shortforMyanmarKorea,willserveasthe
masterfranchiseforthebrandinMyanmar.UMaungMaungKyusaidthe
companyplanstoopen25restaurantsby2016,expandingfromYangonto
NayPyiTaw.
Alongwiththestandardfareofchickenandburgers,Lotteriawillalsooffer
dishestailoredtoMyanmarconsumers,suchaschickenrice.
AnotherSouthKoreanchain,BBQChicken,isscheduledtoopenitsfirst
MyanmaroutletinMayindowntownYangon,saidexecutivedirectorU
ChanNyeinHockandmanagingdirectorUNaingWinAung.
MyanmarCulinaryHoldingsCompanyLimited,anewbranchofthewell
establishedMyanmarrestaurantchainYKKO,isservingasthemaster
franchise.
UChanNyeinHockandUNaingWinAungbothadmittedthatBBQ
ChickenspriceswillputitoutofreachofmanyinMyanmar.The
restaurantwillbegearedtowardsthecitysyoungmiddleclasspopulation
withacasualdiningformat.
Therestaurantwillbedecoratedinawaythatyoungpeoplewill
appreciate,saidUNaingWinAung.Ourtargetcustomerswillbemiddle
anduppermiddleincomeindividuals.
MalaysiabasedMarrybrownhasalsostartedbuildingarestaurantin
Yangon.MalaysiannewsoutletBernamahasreportedthatthecompany
planstoopenmorethan20restaurantsinMyanmarduringthenextfive
yearsbutwhencontactedbyTheMyanmarTimesrepresentativesfromthe
companysaidthattheywerenotreadytocommentonoperationsin
Myanmar.
Anillustrationdistributedbythecompanyshowsarestaurantwithatouch
ofvintageAmericana,includingaslopingrooflineanddrivethrough
window.
ProfessorNicholasFarrelly,aresearchfellowatAustralianNational
UniversitysSchoolofInternational,PoliticalandStrategicStudies,said
thatthenewoperationsaresignificantbeyondtheexpandedculinary
optionstheybring.
Thearrivaloftheglobalfastfoodheavyweightsmarksaturningpointfor
supplychains,middleclasswaistlinesandinternationalperceptions.Many
willresentthearrivalofsuchunhealthyharbingersofWesternways.But
therewillstillbealevelofexcitementassomeofthemostrecognisable
brandsandrecipesinhistorysweepacrossthecountry,saidMrFarrelly.

Itsunclearwhatexactlythiswillmeanforthethousandsofrestaurants
thathaveappearedintheglobalchainfreeenvironmentsince1988.U
KyawSwaMoe,managerofthepopulardowntownYangonrestaurantY2T,
saidbusinesseslikehiswillhavetoadapttotheirnewcompetitorsto
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FastfoodinvasionloomsinYangon

saidbusinesseslikehiswillhavetoadapttotheirnewcompetitorsto
survive.Butcompetingwithsimilarofferingswillbedifficult,hesaid.
Weareconcernedaboutthembringinginhightechcookingtools,saidU
KyawSwaMoe.Theotherdifficultyisourchefsandcooks.Theywantto
usetraditionalmethodsofcooking,theycantbeaskedtousemoremodern
toolsandmachines.Theydontlikethat.Tocopewiththechefsisareal
challengeofours.
MrFarrellysaidhebelievesteashopsandstreetvendorswillbelargely
unaffectedbecausetheyareinadifferentpricerangefromthe
internationalchainsbutmoreupmarketestablishmentsmayhavereasons
toworry.
MostMyanmardinerswillcontinuetopatronisetheiroldfavourites,said
MrFarrelly.Butformanythenoveltyofbigforeignchainswillbetoohard
toresist.ExperiencefromelsewhereinSoutheastAsiasuggestssomeofthe
biginternationalchainswilldoverywell,andwillquicklydisplacethelocal
competition.

Copyright2015TheMyanmarTimes.Allrightsreserved.
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