Today's WSJ Business & Finance section had an excerpt from the interview with David Gibbs, CEO of Yum! Brands. Fast-food restaurants were hard hit by COVID-19 and I was curious about CEO's take on the challenges and opportunities ahead. However, the article was not as revealing mainly because the interview questions were mediocre and out of focus. For instance, why did the reporter ask Mr. Gibbs about when things will be go back to normal in the fast-food industry? Did the reporter expect some surprising answers when they asked Mr. Gibbs about whether workers in food and restaurants should get earlier access to vaccine and whether he supports the minimum wage? The question ending the interview piece was: "What has been your pandemic comfort food?" If this article was in a magazine that you pick up randomly in a waiting room and read reluctantly, it could have been an okay question. WSJ readers expect to hear something more than what CEO's comfort food is.
So, below is a list of the questions I would have asked if I had an opportunity to sit down and talk to CEO of the company that operates popular fast-food chains including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell:
You have 30 plus years of working in this industry. How is COVID-19 different from any previous challenges you've experienced other than its vast scope?
People are cooking at home more than before and meal kits and microwave meals have been in high demand since the pandemic began. How would your fast-food restaurants compete with these rising industries?
(Following up Mr. Gibbs' answer, "If I look back prior to the pandemic, I wish we had moved even quicker for Pizza Hut to be more of a delivery, carryout business and less reliant on dine-in. We’ve talked about that for years. Sometimes big organizations can be bureaucratic. But I think we probably impressed even ourselves in how quickly we have pivoted") Given this experience, do you expect any changes in decision-making processes in your company?
Promoting online growth of the restaurant is more than enabling online order and more takeout than dine-in. It will affect the menu, marketing, the size of the physical store, staffing, etc. What do you think will be the biggest hurdle in making these changes?
The delivery service like DoorDash and Uber Eats has two types of customers: people who make food and people who order food. Your restaurant chains are the former. How's Yum! Brands' relationship with these delivery services? Would it develop further? How?
