Owner of shuttered Pizza Hut franchises files suit against the pizza chain

Image via WikipediaLarry Lundy, a well-known New Orleans businessman and Pizza Hut magnate who owned dozens of the franchises in southeast Louisiana that abruptly closed last month, filed a counterclaim Monday against the pizza chain, claiming it hampered his company's profitability as it attempted to squeeze him out of the market.

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• Pizza Huts around La. closed over lawsuit (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Taco Bell fights back on beef lawsuit with ad push

Taco Bell is launching an advertising campaign Friday to fight back against a lawsuit charging its taco filling isn't beef.

The fast-food chain placed full-page print ads in Friday's editions of the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times and other papers as well as online ads to "set the record straight," company President Greg Creed told The Associated Press.

The print ads say, in huge letters, "Thank you for suing us. Here's the truth about our seasoned beef." They go on to outline the meat's ingredients. The chain did not say how much it is spending on the campaign, but such ads in national newspapers can cost more than $100,000.

The class-action lawsuit was filed late last week in federal court in California. It claimed Taco Bell falsely advertised its products as "beef." The suit alleges that the fast-food chain actually uses a meat mixture in its burritos and tacos that contains binders and extenders and does not meet requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled beef.

Taco Bell quickly denied the accusation. "The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts," Taco Bell President Creed said in an interview.

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• Taco Bell responds to lawsuit (hospitalitybusinessnews.com)

Taco Bell responds to lawsuit

Image via Wikipedia(Hospitality Business News) January 26, 2010 --- "At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods. We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture. We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website. Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later -- and got their "facts" absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food."

Taco Bell in a beef about beef

Image via Wikipedia

(Hospitality Business News) January 23, 2010 - - - -The law firm of  Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. has filed a consumer rights class action lawsuit against Taco Bell Corporation. Whereby the lawsuit challenges Taco Bell's practice of representing to consumers that its restaurants serve "seasoned ground beef" or "seasoned beef" filling in its products, when in fact a substantial amount of the filling contains substances other than beef. The lawsuit seeks to require Taco Bell to properly advertise and label food items, and to engage in a corrective advertising campaign to educate the public about the true content of its food products.

According to standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the meat filling in Taco Bell's products does not meet the minimum standard requirement to be labeled and advertised as "beef," seasoned or otherwise. The substantial majority of the filling is comprised of substances other than beef, and is required to be labeled and advertised as "taco meat filing." Taco meat filling includes ingredients added to increase the volume of the product, such as binders and extenders like "isolated oat product."

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Yum Brands seeks to sell Long John Silver's, A&W

Louisville-based Yum Brands announced Tuesday that it's seeking to sell off Long John Silver's, which was founded in Lexington, and A&W.
In a statement, the company said it's focusing on its core brands of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC and its international expansion.
"We do not believe Long John Silver's and A&W ... fit into our long-term growth strategy," said CEO David Novak in a statement.
While Yum's brands have more than 37,000 restaurants worldwide, Long John Silver's and A&W account for just 1,630, or 4.4 percent. All of the latter are owned by franchisees, a point that was raised as part of a lawsuit by one of them last year.

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KFC, Taco Bell owner Priszm Income Fund withholds $2 million franchise fee

Image via WikipediaTORONTO - Priszm Income Fund (TSX:QSR.UN), has withheld another payment while the owner of several Canadian KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations continues to restructure.
The company said Friday it has not paid a $2-million franchise fee to Yum! Restaurants International, which was due Wednesday.
Last month, Priszm also withheld a $975,000 interest payment on its $30-million convertible debenture, and said it was not in the position to repay a $65.6-million senior debt facility which was due at the end of the year.

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Pizza Hut to invest $10M in LA after restaurant closures

Image via Wikipedia

Yum! Brands Inc.’s Pizza Hut chain plans to invest $10 million in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La., after forcing the closure of more than 40 restaurants operated there by franchisee Lundy Enterprises.

According to a report by The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans, the restaurants closed this week after an ongoing dispute with Dallas-based Pizza Hut. (For more on the closures, click here.)

 

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Owner of 44 Pizza Huts around La. closed over lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The owner of 44 Pizza Hut restaurants in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas said Wednesday he has shut them down because of a legal dispute with the parent company.

Dallas-based Pizza Hut Inc. filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court earlier this week against Larry Lundy and Lundy Enterprises.

A spokesman for Pizza Hut said Wednesday that it was developing a fund to help about 1,000 employees out of work because of the shutdown, and planned to build new restaurants in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.

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KFC ordered to pay Iowa Income Taxes

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa didn't violate any laws when it assessed fried-chicken giant KFC Corp. nearly $250,000 for unpaid corporate income taxes, even though it had no restaurants or employees in the state, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

All KFC restaurants in Iowa are independent franchises, whose owners pay KFC for the use of its logo and systems. The company also requires franchises to adhere to its requirements for menu items, marketing and facilities.

The Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance assessed KFC more than $248,000 in unpaid corporate income taxes, including interest and penalties, in 2001. The taxes were for 1997 to 1999.

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Pizza Hut's 500th Chinese Restaurant Opened In Lanzhou

The chain pizza restaurant Pizza Hut has announced that its 500th pizza restaurant in China has opened in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province.

According to Zhu Zongyi, president for the China business department of Yum Brands, parent company of Pizza Hut, over the next two years Yum plans to invest CNY30 million in Lanzhou. Zhu said that Yum started developing the Chinese western market ten years ago and in 2010 the number of its restaurants in the Chinese western areas was seven times as five years ago.

Gao Yao, general manager for the Pizza Hut brand of Yum China, said that unlike other multinational enterprises who usually focus on the development in coastal cities in China, Pizza Hut has been exploring cities of various tiers step by step. Its footprints are all over China, from the coastal and economically developed regions to the southwestern, northeastern, and northwestern regions.

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Pizza Hut tries to defuse "race" row in UK

A restaurant chain today ordered its staff not to ask for payment before a meal after an incident involving a group of black footballers.
The AFC Bournemouth players were angered after being told to pay the bill before being served with their food at Pizza Hut.
Midfielder Anton Robinson was reportedly told by the restaurant manager that the request was made because of their appearance.
He told the Daily Echo: “We had a good idea what he was getting at. A group of white kids came in straight after us and they weren't asked to pay before they had their food.

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Malaysia's Johor Corp says not selling QSR, KFC

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Johor Corp, the state investment arm of the country's southernmost state bordering Singapore, has decided it won't sell its indirect subsidiaries QSR Brands and KFC Holdings , upsetting plans of two rival foreign private equity bidders.
QSR and KFC Holdings, held via Johor Corp's 53 percent subsidiary Kulim, have been in the spotlight after receiving two unsolicited bids to buy the company, both of which involved foreign private equity firms.
Local tycoon Halim Saad had made a bid for QSR together with private equity firm CVC Group before the Carlyle Group made a better offer worth 1.94 billion ringgit ($618.8 million).
"QSR and KFC are not for sale," Johor Corp's president and chief executive Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim said in a statement.

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McDonald's challenges KFC Christmas tradition in Japan

Thanks to a hugely successful advertising campaign in the 1970s that proclaimed "Kentucky for Christmas!" millions of Japanese have made KFC their traditional Christmas Day meal. This year, McDonald's is looking to get a slice of that business.

courtesy of McDonald's Japan

The burger giant has launched its Christmas Waku Waku Chicken Variety campaign. McDonald's started taking advance orders for the set meal on November 4 and selling over the counter at its more than 3,700 domestic outlets in early December.

The set includes two grilled chicken breasts, two five-piece boxes of Chicken McNuggets, two "shaka shaka" chicken pieces, which come with three flavours - cheese, black pepper and pizza - that must be added to the chicken, plus a mega-portion of fried potatoes.

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Priszm fund sells 232 YUM brand restaurants in Canada

TORONTO - Units of Priszm Income Fund (TSX:QSR.UN) fell by a third Monday after it announced the sale of all its 232 restaurants in Ontario and British Columbia to a numbered company for about $46.4 million.
The operator of most of Canada's KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants, said the decision to sell was made in order to meet liquidity needs and assist with franchise upgrade requirements.
The buyer is a numbered company owned by a European franchisee of Yum! Restaurants International. Yum! operates franchises and handles licences for various fast food restaurants around the world.
The purchase price is subject to various adjustments based on assets and other factors. The deal is expected to close on Feb. 28.
Priszm units fell 9.5 cents to 19 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with almost 308,000 units changing hands, more than eight times the usual volume.

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Yum details growth targets

Yum! Brands Inc. continues to see growth opportunities in its key markets, especially China, and plans aggressive expansion in other parts of the world, from Africa to Russia, executives at the company told investors Wednesday.

Yum officials discussed the company's financial outlook at the annual investor conference, including projections of a 14-percent increase in 2010 earnings and a 10-percent increase for earnings next year.

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Idaman ups bid for Malaysia QSR to match Carlyle offer

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Idaman Saga, a vehicle controlled by tycoon Halim Saad, said on Monday that it had formed a venture with KUB Malaysia and CVC Capital Partners Asia III Limited to match a 6.70 Malaysian ringgit ($2.12) per share bid for QSR from Carlyle Asia.

Idaman had initially bid 5.60 ringgit per share for QSR, the majority owner of the lucrative  Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut franchise in Malaysia.

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Irish KFC franchise posts after-tax losses of €469,722

THE COMPANY that operates the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise across Ireland went into the red last year, sustaining after-tax losses of €469,722.
Documents just filed with the Companies Office show Herbel Restaurants (Ireland) Ltd recorded a 10 per cent drop in operating profits from €5.1 million to €4.6 million to the end of December last.

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McDonald's and PepsiCo to help write UK health policy

 Photograph: Murdo Macleod
for the Guardian

The Department of Health is putting the fast food companies McDonald's and KFC and processed food and drink manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Unilever, Mars and Diageo at the heart of writing government policy on obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease, the Guardian has learned.

In an overhaul of public health, said by campaign groups to be the equivalent of handing smoking policy over to the tobacco industry, health secretary Andrew Lansley has set up five "responsibility deal" networks with business, co-chaired by ministers, to come up with policies. Some of these are expected to be used in the public health white paper due in the next month.

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China Loves KFC, Pizza Hut And Investors Should Too

China’s appetite for Colonel Sanders’ chicken continues to grow. The world’s most populated country now accounts for 41.5% of Yum Brands’ (YUM – Analyst Report) overall revenue, up from 35.8% a year ago.
The company, which also operates Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, reported solid third quarter earnings on October 5. Management also increased earnings guidance for the remainder of the year, prompting analysts to raise their estimates.

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5 worst fast-food meals marketed to kids

The most recent issue of Good Medicine lists what it considers the five worst fast-food meals marketed to children. The list was compiled by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:
McDonald's Mighty Kids Meal – with a double cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milk: 840 calories and 37 grams of fat.
Wendy's Kids' Meal – A chicken sandwich, fries and a chocolate Frosty: 770 calories and 34 grams of fat.
KFC Kids' Meal – Popcorn Chicken, potato wedges, string cheese and soda: 800 calories, 1,800 mg of sodium.
A&W Kids' Meal – cheeseburger, fries and soda: 780 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat.
Burger King's BK Kids – Breakfast muffin sandwich meal: 95 mg of cholesterol, and it exceeds the recommended daily allowance of sodium.