Fast-food giant KFC has temporarily closed 108 outlets in Malaysia, a move linked to ongoing economic boycotts spurred by the Gaza conflict which followed the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, CNA has reported, quoting Chinese daily Nanyang Siau Pau.
Kelantan state, where 80% of the country’s KFC stores are located, has chiefly been affected.
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15 stores in Johor have been closed temporarily, along with 11 stores each in Selangor and Kedah, 10 each in Terengganu and Pahang, 9 in Perak, 6 in Negeri Sembilan, 5 in Penang, 3 in Kuala Lumpur, 2 each in Perlis, Malacca and Sarawak, and one in Sabah.
QSR Brands, which operates KFC in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei,and Cambodia, has cited challenging economic conditions as the reason for the temporary shutdowns.
The company aims to manage rising business costs and concentrate on areas with higher customer engagement.
It has also offered affected employees the chance to transfer to busier stores as part of its re-optimisation strategy.
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By GlobalDataQSR Brands was quoted by CNA as saying: “As a company that has been serving Malaysians for over 50 years, the focus remains on providing quality products and services to customers, while contributing positively to the Malaysian economy through job security for 18,000 team members in Malaysia, of whom approximately 85% are Muslims.”
While the exact number of impacted outlets and employees remains undisclosed, QSR Brands’ website lists more than 600 KFC locations in Malaysia, with the first opening in Kuala Lumpur in 1973.
The economic boycotts have also led to the closure of several McDonald’s and Starbucks outlets in the country.
The US-based companies are facing a business downturn due to boycotts against their parent country’s position in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Berjaya Food, which operates Starbucks, reported a revenue drop of nearly 40% to RM182.55m ($38.3m) between October and November 2023, compared to RM295.32m in the same period of 2022.
On 18 April 2024 a Starbucks branch in Tawau, Sabah, was spray-painted with the words “free Palestine” on its wall, highlighting the extent of the boycotts and protests.
