Tricon's Combos Keep Customers Coming Back

Louisville, Kentucky--Tricon Restaurants has been transforming rising chicken wing sales into increased sales of chalupas and cheesy crust pizzas. The restaurant chain operator has lifted all the disparate ships in its fleet--KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell--by putting a combination of the brands under one roof.

Tricon says sales for restaurants that have been open for at least a year increased by 5 percent in the first quarter. Same-store sales for Taco Bell rose 8 percent in the first quarter, while KFC saw a 5 percent increase and Pizza Hut sales rose 2 percent. According to Tricon, fitting different concepts in one space has produced a bonanza. At the 614 locations that feature both a Taco Bell and KFC, sales have increased by 30 percent. At KFC-Pizza Hut combinations, sales grew 15 percent. -Forbes