百胜CEO：分拆后，我们仍是现金牛！

百胜餐饮集团将在2016年，分拆曾经增长迅速的中国业务，但该公司CEO表示，分拆后公司的剩余业务仍然有能力催生大量现金，同时也有足够的扩充空间。

百胜餐饮集团旗下包括肯德基、塔可钟和必胜客等连锁餐厅。该公司近期表示，在分拆中国业务前，百胜计划为投资者提供高达62亿美元的回报。分拆后的中国业务将在2016年年底前在纽约证券交易所上市。

百胜目前在中国有6900家门店，占公司第三季度总营业利润的54%。自1997年百胜餐饮从百事可乐公司拆分之后，中国市场一直都是这家餐饮巨头最大的增长来源。但在过去几年，肯德基中国业务一直深受食品安全丑闻、禽流感爆发、市场营销失误和竞争加剧等问题的困扰。所有这些因素对公司营收产生重大影响：过去五个季度中，百胜中国餐厅的销售额有四个季度出现下降。而且，百胜中国目前仍未摆脱困境：11月，百胜中国的可比销售额下降了3%。

中国市场的糟糕表现，也影响了百胜的总体业绩，并且波及到了公司的股票。正是出于这些原因，百胜在一年半以前便考虑分拆其中国业务，其中当然也有维权投资者推波助澜的因素。

虽然中国值得高度重视，但百胜CEO格雷格•克利德告诉《财富》杂志，其他国际市场仍有巨大的挖掘潜力。他认为，如果能够充分挖掘尼日利亚和巴西等市场的潜力，百胜将有机会将店铺数量增至三倍。肯德基可以在美国和中国市场之外新开500家餐厅，必胜客可以增加325家餐厅。此外，他表示，非洲展示出“巨大的”潜力，尤其是尼日利亚。即使没有中国，百胜还有126个国家。

而且，百胜断言，即便分拆之后，中国依旧将是其增长来源。砍掉中国业务之后，百胜依旧可以通过收取特许加盟费等方式共享中国业务的收益。

克利德在采访中表示：“通过3%的特许加盟费，我们将继续从中国巨大的上升潜力中获益。”据路透社报道，这一比率低于行业平均水平。

对于在中国之外的市场，百胜将继续推行特许加盟，并计划到2017年底，让特许加盟餐厅的占比达到96%。特许加盟在成熟的快餐连锁店更为常见，比如麦当劳等，这种方式可以给公司带来稳定的收入流。此外，它不会导致亏损，也不需要资本支出，因此波动性较小。

克利德说道：“我们将变成一台波动性更小的印钞机。”

除了新兴市场，百胜在发达市场也有大量工作要做。例如，百胜最近推出了一则新广告，旨在让拥有60年历史的肯德基品牌重新焕发活力，并在某些市场推出送餐服务。

克利德说道：“我想，我们已经把一个在许多人眼中疲惫、衰老、破败的品牌，变成了一个真正现代化的品牌。”

百胜中国CEO潘伟奇表示，尽管速度会有所放缓，但中国市场可以吸收更多肯德基餐厅：2016年，公司将新开600家餐厅，比今年的700家略有下降。这家炸鸡连锁店的餐厅遍及中国1000个城市。

潘伟奇还表示，美国人可能并不理解百胜中国的餐厅与美国餐厅有何区别。

他说道：“在中国，肯德基提供早餐和优质咖啡。在中国的必胜客，你可以吃到法式蜗牛。”

他认为，中国的百胜餐厅更时髦。

“美国的人均收入水平高于中国，但中国的餐厅看起来要好得多。我认为，中国市场有巨大的发展潜力。”（财富中文网）

译者:刘进龙/汪皓

审校：任文科

Yum Brands will spin off its once-fast growing China division sometime in 2016, but the remaining company will still generate wads of cash and has tons of room to aggressively expand, according to its CEO.

The company, which owns the KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, said on Thursday that it planned to return up to $6.2 billion to investors before it hives off its China business and lists it on the New York Stock Exchange by the end of next year.

Yum’s 6,900-restaurant China division generated 54% of overall operating profit in the third quarter, and China has been the biggest source of growth by far at Yum since the company was spun from PepsiCo in 1997. But in the last few years, KFC in China has been beset by food safety scandals, avian flu outbreak fears, marketing missteps, and intense local competition. All of these factors have been a drag on business: sales at Yum’s established restaurants in China have fallen in four of the last five quarters. And it’s not out of the woods: in November, Yum China comparable sales declined 3%.

The disappointment in China has been a drag on Yum’s overall results and, by extension, Yum shares, leading the company a year-and-a-half ago to consider spinning off its China business, something activist investors have pushed for as well.

Though China commands a lot of attention, Yum CEO Greg Creed told Fortune that other international markets are still untapped. He sees the opportunity to eventually triple the number of restaurants Yum has, pointing to markets like Nigeria and Brazil as being full of potential. KFC can open 500 more stores outside of the U.S. and China, while Pizza Hut can grow by 325 locations. What’s more, Africa shows “huge” potential, he said, particularly Nigeria. Even without China, Yum will be in 126 countries.

And despite the spin-off, Yum is betting that China can still be a source of growth. Yum is keeping some skin in the game via a license fee, giving it a cut of sales in China.

“With the license fee of 3%, we are going to participate in the significant upside potential in China,” Creed said in an interview. That rate is slightly below the industry average, according to a Reuters report.

As for its business outside China, Yum will continue its franchising push and a plan to have 96% of restaurants franchised by the end of 2017. Franchising is more common with mature quick-service restaurant chains like McDonald’s MCD -0.71% and offers a company a steady flow of income with less volatility since it is not on the hook for losses or things like capital expenses.

“We’re going to become a cash generating machine with less volatility,” Creed said.

Beyond emerging markets, Yum has tons to keep it busy in developed markets. For instance, it has been updating the 60-year old KFC brand with a new ad campaign and introducing home delivery in some markets.

“I think we’ve taken what was considered a tired old run-down brand and made it a real contemporary brand,” Creed said.

Yum China CEO Micky Pant said the country’s market can absorb many more new KFC stores, though pace is slowing a bit: in 2016, the company will open 600 new restaurants, down from 700 this year. The fried chicken chain already operates stores in 1,000 Chinese cities.

Pant also said Americans don’t necessarily appreciate how different Yum’s restaurants are in China compared with U.S. locations.

“In China, KFC offers breakfast and a premium cup of coffee,” said Pant. “At Pizza Hut in China, you can get escargot.”

And frankly, Yum’s restaurants in China are snazzier, he argues.

“The U.S. is wealthier than China per capita, but the restaurants in China look dramatically better. I think the upside is very high indeed.”