SHANGHAI, Oct. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings,
Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China",
NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) announced the opening of its Digital
R&D Center with three sites in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xi'an. The inauguration of the Digital R&D
Center represents an important milestone for the Company's strategy
to build a dynamic digital ecosystem comprised of 1) the Digital
R&D Center, 2) joint venturing, and 3) third party
collaboration, to provide a solid foundation for Yum China to further develop its brands and
businesses, accelerate expansion and capture market
opportunities.
The Digital R&D Center will consolidate and expand dedicated
resources to develop new solutions and services using technologies
in big data, artificial intelligence (AI), middle office and
digital SaaS to drive end-to-end digitalization. The Digital
R&D Center will bolster Yum
China's in-house digital capabilities across various
functions, such as:
- Consumer-facing: to improve Super Apps, mini programs and
membership programs to provide higher quality service and customer
experience.
- Store operations: to upgrade systems and tools for more
efficient operations and decision making, such as our digital tools
for restaurant general managers, "Pocket Manager" and "Super
Brain."
- Smart delivery: to further optimize delivery order queuing,
trade zones, and rider routing.
- Supply chain management: to enhance food safety and streamline
operations from farm to fork.
"Digitalization is one of the key enablers behind Yum China's resiliency and long-term development
as we move toward our next milestone of 20,000 stores," said
Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. "The Digital R&D Center is an
important part of our investment strategy as we apply cutting-edge
technologies to digitally transform stores and drive operational
excellence."
"Evolving consumer behavior, such as increased off-premise
dining, and the Company's accelerated development, place more
demand on our R&D capabilities," said Leila Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of
Yum China. "We believe the
establishment of the Digital R&D Center will significantly
strengthen Yum China's internal
digital capabilities and support sustainable business growth by
using advanced technology for real life applications."
As a pioneer of digitalization in the restaurant industry in
China, Yum
China launched a digital program several years ago. With the
establishment of the Digital R&D Center, the Company will have
more dedicated resources in its restaurant operations for building
topnotch digital infrastructure. The Company will continue to
cooperate with external partners such as scientific research
institutions and other industry leaders to implement leading edge
technology.
Yum China has earmarked
$1-1.5 billion of investment over the
next five years in digital and technology. As an integral part of
this initiative, the Company plans to invest approximately
$100-200 million and to employ up to
500 staff in the Digital R&D Center to support the company's
growth over the next five years. The Digital R&D Center in
Shanghai, Xi'an and Nanjing will be able to tap into the large
talent pool at the top universities in these cities. With
additional resources, the Company will further enhance our digital
capabilities, as well as accelerate innovations and
implementation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend all
forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact
that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and
by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect,"
"expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend,"
"belief," "aim," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict,"
"project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast,"
"outlook," "look forward to" or similar terminology. These
statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by
us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends,
current conditions and expected future developments, as well as
other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under
the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such
estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently
subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are
difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events
to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We
cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or
assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements
included in this press release are only made as of the date of this
press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update
any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances, except as required by law. All forward-looking
statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their
inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set
forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations " in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors
that could affect our financial and other results.
About Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in
mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC,
China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the
leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving
innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum
China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii &
JOY concepts outright. In addition, Yum
China has partnered with Lavazza to explore and develop the
Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 11,023 restaurants in
over 1,500 cities at the end of June
2021. Yum China ranked # 363
on the Fortune 500 list and was named to TIME100 Most Influential
Companies list in 2021. Yum China
has been named the Industry Leader for the Restaurant & Leisure
Facilities Industry in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.
In 2021, Yum China was named to the
Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer
2021 in China by the Top Employers
Institute, both for the third consecutive year. For more
information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.
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SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.