page_title: History of KFC
section_title: Sale by Sanders and rapid growth
hierarchical_section_title: History of KFC / Sale by Sanders and rapid growth
caption_attribution_description: English: Kentucky Colonel Harland Sanders in the 1970s, in character
context_page_description: KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of restaurant franchising, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast-food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. Branding himself "Colonel Sanders", the founder became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. The company's rapid expansion made it too large for Sanders to manage, so in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey.
  KFC was one of the first fast-food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, KFC experienced mixed success domestically, as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with little or no experience in the restaurant business.
context_section_description: KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. In 1960 the company had around 200 franchised restaurants; by 1963 this had grown to over 600, making it the largest fast food operation in the United States. In 1963, Sanders met John Y. Brown, Jr, a young Kentucky encyclopaedia salesman, who explained that he was keen to join the company. Sanders instead proposed the sale of the company, as business skills did not come naturally to him, and he lacked an obvious or willing heir among his relatives.
  Lacking sufficient funds himself, Brown convinced the financier Jack C. Massey to provide 60 percent of the acquisition capital, and provided a major contribution himself, with smaller contributions from franchise holder Pete Harman and company officials Lee Cummings and Harlan Adams. Sanders then began to have doubts about selling the company, as some members of his family were against it. The group acquired the company in 1964 for US$2 million (around US$15 million in 2013). The contract included a lifetime salary for Sanders and the agreement that he would be the company's quality controller and trademark.
  Massey and Brown introduced standardization to the fragmented company. After visiting Pete Harman's operations in Utah, they began to implement the stand-alone take-out model across the entire chain. Franchisees were ordered to delist their own menu items so that they could concentrate on KFC products. The restaurants were re-branded with a distinctive red-and-white striped color pattern and mansard roofs with cupolas. The roll-out of freestanding stores accelerated the company's growth as outlets exclusively selling fried chicken proved to be more appealing to potential franchisees.
  Despite selling the company, Sanders retained significant moral authority over executives and franchisees and made his feelings clear when he disagreed with corporate decisions. When Massey moved company headquarters from Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, Sanders was quoted as saying, "This ain't no goddam Tennessee Fried Chicken, no matter what some slick, silk-suited son-of-a-bitch says". He believed that the company had reneged on their contract with him when they opened operations in Canada, arguing that the contract had granted him the exclusive rights to operate there. KFC was forced to renegotiate with Sanders regarding the Canadian activities, as he owned $1.5 million worth of stock and was using it to prevent Massey from listing the company publicly until his points of issue were addressed. Brown and Massey claimed that Sanders only had the rights to process chicken in Canada. After they renegotiated the contract to guarantee Sanders exclusive rights over Canada, he sold his stock to them, and the company went public in 1966. After going public, the company bought out its 600 franchisees and directly operated them itself. Later that year, Massey resigned from day-to-day management of the company (although he remained as chairman), and Brown announced that headquarters would be moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
  By 1967, KFC had become the sixth largest restaurant chain in the US by sales volume, and 30 percent of sales were take-out. Brown felt that the company had to expand quickly, or else emerging rivals such as Church's Chicken would steal the company's lead; 863 outlets were opened in 1968. The company's growth pushed its stock value to "stratospheric" levels, according to Reuters, and in 1969 it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, KFC entered into ventures with other companies. Brown believed that the Colonel Sanders brand could be used to market anything, and launched the "Kentucky Roast Beef" restaurant chain, and "Colonel Sanders Inns" motels. The two ventures quickly failed, although the roast beef chain had 100 outlets by 1970. That same year, KFC entered a joint venture with the California-based fish and chips chain H. Salt Esquire, which proved more successful, but was sold off in 1980.
  Massey resigned as chairman of the com
caption: Harland Sanders in character as "The Colonel" c. 1974
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