Negotiating International Development Arrangements in a Franchise System

Sally Glover, Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer, KFC South Pacific, Australia

International expansion often involves the creation of some form of business relationship with a party that resides in the local market. Yum! Brands is a global success story, with around 52,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries across its KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell brands. Successful and quite sophisticated business partnerships in many countries have underpinned that growth and development. Many other consumer brands have entered new markets using some form of joint venture, area development, master franchise or licence arrangement. This article draws upon the experiences of Sally Glover, Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer of KFC in Australia, and Stephen Giles, a partner with global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in negotiating and documenting international development agreements

Sally is the Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer for KFC South Pacific, the franchisor of the iconic KFC brand in Australia and New Zealand. KFC is a subsidiary of NYSE listed Yum! Brands Inc. Sally is a general counsel with more than 25 years