Pizza Hut Needs More Than a Slice of Help From KFC in China

Yum China’s first quarter was weighed down by a poor performance from Pizza Hut, despite some unusual new flavors

Jacky Wong

May 2, 2018 3:32 a.m. ET

Not even durian pizzas are helping Pizza Hut in China.

The U.S. restaurant chain’s same-store sales in China dropped 5% year-over-year last quarter, according to Yum China, the New York-listed company that owns the exclusive rights for Pizza Hut there and also operates KFC. Yum China was spun off from Yum Brands in late 2016: The former parent still collects 3% of its sales as royalties.

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