New | Yum China buying controlling stake in home delivery service Daojia

Yum hopes the takeover will help Daojia expand delivery services for its massive network of 7,663 KFC and Pizza Hut outlets

Reading Time:2 minutes

A woman eats a chicken burger in a branch of a KFC restaurant in Shanghai. Yum China Holdings, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains across the country, is buying a controlling stake in food delivery service provider Daojia. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:05pm, 16 May 2017Updated: 10:48pm, 16 May 2017

Yum China Holdings, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains across the country, is buying a controlling stake in food delivery service provider Daojia, as it looks to boost sales by better serving customers who chose to eat at home.

No figures were released by either side, but the transaction is expected to close this May, said Yum.

Reuters reported in November, citing sources, that Yum China was in talk to buy Daojia for up to US$200 million.

Daojia (到家), which also operates Sherpas food delivery services, was founded in 2010 and focuses on higher value food orders in major cities in China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Daojian’s food ordering app. Photo: Simon Song

The move is in line with Yum China’s strategy to accelerate growth through digital and delivery. Deliveries accounted for around 12 per cent of Yum China’s sales in the first quarter of this year.

“Digital and delivery are long-term strategic drivers of our business, and I am pleased to build on our technological know-how and capabilities in this high growth area,” said Micky Pant, CEO of Yum China on Tuesday.