百勝餐飲集團將在2016年，分拆曾經增長迅速的中國業務，但該公司CEO表示，分拆后公司的剩余業務仍然有能力催生大量現金，同時也有足夠的擴充空間。

百勝餐飲集團旗下包括肯德基、塔可鐘和必勝客等連鎖餐廳。該公司近期表示，在分拆中國業務前，百勝計劃為投資者提供高達62億美元的回報。分拆后的中國業務將在2016年年底前在紐約證券交易所上市。

百勝目前在中國有6900家門店，占公司第三季度總營業利潤的54%。自1997年百勝餐飲從百事可樂公司拆分之后，中國市場一直都是這家餐飲巨頭最大的增長來源。但在過去幾年，肯德基中國業務一直深受食品安全丑聞、禽流感爆發、市場營銷失誤和競爭加劇等問題的困擾。所有這些因素對公司營收產生重大影響：過去五個季度中，百勝中國餐廳的銷售額有四個季度出現下降。而且，百勝中國目前仍未擺脫困境：11月，百勝中國的可比銷售額下降了3%。

中國市場的糟糕表現，也影響了百勝的總體業績，并且波及到了公司的股票。正是出于這些原因，百勝在一年半以前便考慮分拆其中國業務，其中當然也有維權投資者推波助瀾的因素。

雖然中國值得高度重視，但百勝CEO格雷格?克利德告訴《財富》雜志，其他國際市場仍有巨大的挖掘潛力。他認為，如果能夠充分挖掘尼日利亞和巴西等市場的潛力，百勝將有機會將店鋪數量增至三倍。肯德基可以在美國和中國市場之外新開500家餐廳，必勝客可以增加325家餐廳。此外，他表示，非洲展示出“巨大的”潛力，尤其是尼日利亞。即使沒有中國，百勝還有126個國家。

而且，百勝斷言，即便分拆之后，中國依舊將是其增長來源。砍掉中國業務之后，百勝依舊可以通過收取特許加盟費等方式共享中國業務的收益。

克利德在采訪中表示：“通過3%的特許加盟費，我們將繼續從中國巨大的上升潛力中獲益。”據路透社報道，這一比率低于行業平均水平。

對于在中國之外的市場，百勝將繼續推行特許加盟，并計劃到2017年底，讓特許加盟餐廳的占比達到96%。特許加盟在成熟的快餐連鎖店更為常見，比如麥當勞等，這種方式可以給公司帶來穩定的收入流。此外，它不會導致虧損，也不需要資本支出，因此波動性較小。

克利德說道：“我們將變成一臺波動性更小的印鈔機。”

除了新興市場，百勝在發達市場也有大量工作要做。例如，百勝最近推出了一則新廣告，旨在讓擁有60年歷史的肯德基品牌重新煥發活力，并在某些市場推出送餐服務。

克利德說道：“我想，我們已經把一個在許多人眼中疲憊、衰老、破敗的品牌，變成了一個真正現代化的品牌。”

百勝中國CEO潘偉奇表示，盡管速度會有所放緩，但中國市場可以吸收更多肯德基餐廳：2016年，公司將新開600家餐廳，比今年的700家略有下降。這家炸雞連鎖店的餐廳遍及中國1000個城市。

潘偉奇還表示，美國人可能并不理解百勝中國的餐廳與美國餐廳有何區別。

他說道：“在中國，肯德基提供早餐和優質咖啡。在中國的必勝客，你可以吃到法式蝸牛。”

他認為，中國的百勝餐廳更時髦。

“美國的人均收入水平高于中國，但中國的餐廳看起來要好得多。我認為，中國市場有巨大的發展潛力。”（財富中文網）

譯者:劉進龍/汪皓

審校：任文科

Yum Brands will spin off its once-fast growing China division sometime in 2016, but the remaining company will still generate wads of cash and has tons of room to aggressively expand, according to its CEO.

The company, which owns the KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, said on Thursday that it planned to return up to $6.2 billion to investors before it hives off its China business and lists it on the New York Stock Exchange by the end of next year.

Yum’s 6,900-restaurant China division generated 54% of overall operating profit in the third quarter, and China has been the biggest source of growth by far at Yum since the company was spun from PepsiCo in 1997. But in the last few years, KFC in China has been beset by food safety scandals, avian flu outbreak fears, marketing missteps, and intense local competition. All of these factors have been a drag on business: sales at Yum’s established restaurants in China have fallen in four of the last five quarters. And it’s not out of the woods: in November, Yum China comparable sales declined 3%.

The disappointment in China has been a drag on Yum’s overall results and, by extension, Yum shares, leading the company a year-and-a-half ago to consider spinning off its China business, something activist investors have pushed for as well.

Though China commands a lot of attention, Yum CEO Greg Creed told Fortune that other international markets are still untapped. He sees the opportunity to eventually triple the number of restaurants Yum has, pointing to markets like Nigeria and Brazil as being full of potential. KFC can open 500 more stores outside of the U.S. and China, while Pizza Hut can grow by 325 locations. What’s more, Africa shows “huge” potential, he said, particularly Nigeria. Even without China, Yum will be in 126 countries.

And despite the spin-off, Yum is betting that China can still be a source of growth. Yum is keeping some skin in the game via a license fee, giving it a cut of sales in China.

“With the license fee of 3%, we are going to participate in the significant upside potential in China,” Creed said in an interview. That rate is slightly below the industry average, according to a Reuters report.

As for its business outside China, Yum will continue its franchising push and a plan to have 96% of restaurants franchised by the end of 2017. Franchising is more common with mature quick-service restaurant chains like McDonald’s MCD -0.71% and offers a company a steady flow of income with less volatility since it is not on the hook for losses or things like capital expenses.

“We’re going to become a cash generating machine with less volatility,” Creed said.

Beyond emerging markets, Yum has tons to keep it busy in developed markets. For instance, it has been updating the 60-year old KFC brand with a new ad campaign and introducing home delivery in some markets.

“I think we’ve taken what was considered a tired old run-down brand and made it a real contemporary brand,” Creed said.

Yum China CEO Micky Pant said the country’s market can absorb many more new KFC stores, though pace is slowing a bit: in 2016, the company will open 600 new restaurants, down from 700 this year. The fried chicken chain already operates stores in 1,000 Chinese cities.

Pant also said Americans don’t necessarily appreciate how different Yum’s restaurants are in China compared with U.S. locations.

“In China, KFC offers breakfast and a premium cup of coffee,” said Pant. “At Pizza Hut in China, you can get escargot.”

And frankly, Yum’s restaurants in China are snazzier, he argues.

“The U.S. is wealthier than China per capita, but the restaurants in China look dramatically better. I think the upside is very high indeed.”