KFC Indonesia bottom line suffers following pro-Palestine boycotts

KFC Indonesia has reported steeper losses as pro-Palestinian boycotts in the country continue. In a report released last week, KFC Indonesia recorded a net loss of 348.83 billion rupiah (SG$4 million) in the first quarter of 2024.

The new loss is reportedly a jump of more than 60 times from a loss of 5.56 billion rupiah in the same period last year (SG$460K), according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).  This is the result of the boycotts, a KFC manager in Medan, Indonesia reportedly said. 

The manager, who was reportedly speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had noticed a sharp downturn in business since November last year following the war in Gaza in October, reported SCMP. 

Don't miss: KFC Malaysia keeps vow of silence despite being off the boycott list. Is it the right PR move?

The boycotts across Indonesia reportedly took hold at the start of the war when McDonald's Israel handed out free burgers to members of the Israeli military. In the months that followed, the boycotts also reportedly targeted other brands seen as pro-Israel including Starbucks and McDonald's. 

To replace KFC, families are reportedly buying fried chicken from Singaporean fast-food chain 4Fingers and Indonesian-owned Richeese Factory. 

KFC Indonesia commissioner Archmad Baiguni reportedly said in November last year that the company and all employees expressed deep concern for the plight of Gazans. The company also reportedly made a 1.5-billion-rupiah (SG$124.5K) donation to the Indonesian Red Cross to assist the latter with its work in Palestine. 

This is a similar fate faced by KFC and other boycotted brands in other countries including Malaysia. In April this year, it was reported that 108 KFC outlets in Malaysia were temporarily shuttered amidst the pro-Palestine boycott. 

According to the Straits Times, Kelantan was the hardest hit, with nearly 80% or up to 21 branches temporarily shut. This was reportedly followed by 15 outlets in Johor, 11 branches in Selangor, 11 in Kedah, and 10 in Shah-Alam. 

Interestingly, the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Malaysia (BDS Malaysia) has cleared the air about its alleged campaign for Malaysians to boycott KFC. The fried chicken chain was never included in the BDS Malaysia boycott list and BDS Malaysia never campaigned for the Malaysian people to boycott KFC from the past until now, according to BDS Malaysia chairman Nazari Ismail.

While McDonald’s made the list because its branches in Israel provided free food to Israeli Zionist soldiers and the McDonald’s corporation did not block the action, KFC has not done the same thing, he added in Malay in a statement seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

The current organic boycott targets according to BDS Malaysia’s boycott list, include McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Wix. 

Despite being off the boycott list in Malaysia, KFC has yet to release a statement, according to checks by A+M earlier in the June. 

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