Malaysia: QSR Brands aims 3%-6% revenue growth in 2020

By SULHI KHALID / Pic By MUHD AMIN NAHARUL – The Malaysian Reserve

QSR Brands (M) Holdings is eyeing a 3% to 6% growth in revenue for its fast food chains, KFC and Pizza Hut in 2020, said MD Datuk Seri Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil .

According to Mohamed Azahari, QSR Brands is planning to open 67 KFC and 60 Pizza Hut branches in the country over the next three years.

“Currently, we serve approximately 25 million customers a month at our KFC outlets and six million for our Pizza Hut stores across the nation,” he said at the memorandum of understanding (MoU) event with International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Gombak, Selangor on Wednesday.

To date, QSR Brands operates 824 KFC restaurants across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia and 472 Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore. Azahari, however, declined to comment further on its initial public offering (IPO) plan on the local bourse.

IIUM has officially embarked on its first 2u2i initiative with QSR Brands for its Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programme.

In line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education), 2u2i academic programme supports the implementation of flexible education through industry participation in curriculum design and experiential learning at the workplace.

The embedded curriculum — designed to enrich students’ industrial insights — sets to boost the rate of graduate employability.

According to IIUM, the strategic partnership provides opportunity for BBA students to gain experiential learning through industrial training with KFC restaurants.

“The first cohort of the final year BBA students who opted for this mode are expected to commence their industry placement at selected KFC restaurants in February 2020.

“During the attachment, students will be paid RM1,000 allowance per month by QSR Brands. The main uniqueness of this initiative is the first cohort that was recruited among final year students who have fulfilled the three-year university modules,” said IIUM Rector Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dzulkfli Abdul Razak said.

Mohamed Azahari said in the one year work-based attachment, enrolled students will complete five modules of 30 credit hours at its KFC restaurants.

“This will equip them with adequate exposure and hands-on learning in restaurant management global best practices,” he said.

Both parties are optimistic that more mutually benefitting collaborations will take place through the partnership.

This includes initiatives to embark 2u2i academic programmes focusing halal, promoting innovation in sustainability through joint research, industrial training placements and collaboration for QSR Brands’ restaurant development project.