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Bloomberg

Taco Bell is running for the border.
Yum! Brands Inc’s Mexican-themed restaurant chain will open at least 100 new locations each in China, Brazil, Canada and India during the next five years, according to a statement Thursday. The plan will help boost Taco Bell’s store count to 9,000 globally by 2022 from 6,650 now.
“We’re really focusing in on four big countries,” Melissa Lora, president of Taco Bell International, said in an interview. “They’re big economies, they’re youthful populations.”
While Taco Bell’s same-store sales handily topped estimates in the most recent quarter -- boosted by new items like a chalupa with a fried-chicken shell -- the US market is becoming increasingly saturated. In April, industry same-store sales fell 0.9 per cent, the fifth straight monthly decline, as fickle consumers increasingly turn to cheap food at grocery stores and the convenience of meal-delivery kits.

That’s why Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum, which also owns Pizza Hut and KFC, is turning to international markets to help fuel Taco Bell’s growth. It recently opened its first location in the Netherlands, and has said it will continue expanding in Spain, Guatemala, South Korea and the UK. Other new markets include Peru, Romania, Finland and Sri Lanka, Lora said.
The global push is part of the chain’s previously announced goal of boosting annual sales to US$15 billion by 2022 from US$10 billion today.
Taco Bell also is adding units domestically, where it’s remodelling locations and building buzz with new urban eateries, some of which even serve alcohol. While it has just 11 of those city restaurants now, there will be more than 300 by 2022, the company said.
But it’s the international business that is driving growth. Indeed, Taco Bell’s international business may one day rival its US operations, Lora said.
“One day it could be that,” she said. “We’re off to a good start in the countries we’re in.”


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Yum! Brands

Taco Bell opening dozens of new  stores in China, India and other countries

A Taco Bell restaurant in Metairie, Louisiana. The chain plans to open thousands of stores outside the US, including scores in China and India. Photo: AP

FILE--A Taco Bell advertisement featuring a Chihuahua professing his love for tacos is shown in this undated file photo. Taco Bell Corp. announced July 18, 2000, it has decided to replace its top executive and the Los Angeles-based advertising agency that introduced the chalupa-loving Chihuahua featured in commercials. Taco Bell stated the Chihuahua will not play a prominent role in future ad campaigns. However, the pooch, known for his trademark slogan ``Yo quiero Taco Bell,'' may appear in a cameo role in future commercials. (AP Photo/Taco Bell, File)

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