Restaurant operator collaborates with petroleum company to widen reach

(From left) Pereyra, Ling, Mohamed Azahari, Syed Zainal, Mohd Ibrahimnuddin and Aadrin.

MORE drive-through dining outlets at petrol stations nationwide are being planned, among the many outcomes of a strategic and fruitful partnership.

This can be expected after QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, through its wholly-owned subsidiary company QSR Stores Sdn Bhd, and Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PDB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a string of exciting collaborations.

QSR Brands is a quick-service restaurant operator with more than 1,250 KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia.

At least 50 new KFC drive-through outlets at Petronas stations will be established within the next three years, starting with two this year.

Currently, 15 out of its 100 drive-through outlets are located at Petronas stations.

QSR Brands managing director Datuk Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil said the collaboration provided an excellent opportunity for the company to expand its business and restaurant services.

“As a market leader within the quick-service restaurants segment in Malaysia, we want our service to be easily accessible to our customers.

“While continuing to strengthen our core product and service offerings to deliver excellent customer experiences, we place great emphasis on our expansion strategies to meet increasing demands,” he said.

PDB and QSR brands have been enjoying mutual business success since 2003, leveraging on each other’s strengths, said Petronas downstream business marketing vice-president Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed M. Tahir.

“We are pleased with QSR Brands’ commitment to further expand its foothold within our wide network of Petronas stations.

“As two market leaders in our very own right, this strategic partnership is a testimony of our aspiration to widen our offerings and continue to serve Malaysians better.

“Our integrated collaboration not only brings value to both KFC and Petronas, but more importantly, the ultimate aim is to enhance customer experience.

“I’m confident that when the two brands are put together, you get good results,” he said in his speech.

The MoU signing was represented by KFC Malaysia senior vice-president Ling Mee Jiuan and PDB retail business division head Aadrin Azly.

Witnessing the momentous occasion were QSR Brands restaurant chief executive officer Merrill Pereyra, Mohamed Azahari, Syed Zainal and PDB managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Ibrahimnuddin Mohd Yunus.

While station layout and customers demand, among other factors, are taken into consideration, the opening of KFC drive-through outlets, at this juncture, will be in more town centres than highways.

“KFC has target areas that they want to grow and we have assets where we want to bring more traffic.

“For now, we are looking at areas beyond Klang Valley as well as Borneo. These are areas where there is high demand for KFC.

“The strategy for Petronas is to really create that experience for our customers and we like to think of ourselves as not just a fuel company anymore but a company that sells convenience.

“We want to give a variety of services and goods that meet local demand and expectations,” said Aadrin Azly at a press conference.

Aside from the opening of KFC drive-through outlets, both QSR Brands and PDB are looking to roll out joint promotions, marketing campaigns and loyalty programmes in the near future.