Franchises: Barely open, Emirates-funded KFC closes shop in Algeria

US brand KFC, which opened on Sunday April 14, quickly sparked controversy, leading to an impromptu sit-in outside the chain’s first restaurant in Algeria, in the capital, and calls for a boycott of the brand.

Located in Algiers, more precisely in the Bois des Cars district of Delly Brahim, the restaurant covers an area of ​​400 m2, specifies the weekly Challenge. It welcomed its first customers in the afternoon on Sunday, April 14, attracting a large crowd eager to experience the brand’s specialties, primarily focused on fried chicken. The joy was short-lived, as KFC was accused of providing financial support to Israel.

From Tuesday evening into Wednesday, the authorities of the Algiers villa ordered the removal of the sign from the top of the building, in full view of passers-by and motorists. If the restaurant has continued to serve since then, it is without a banner and with a window without any reference to the brand.

Another curiosity of this stillborn opening is that it is…Emirati investment. This is what the magazine emphasizes Observer of Morocco and Africa. “It’s an American brand, sure, but it wasn’t installed by Americans. It is the Emirati group Azadea. we read.

“Emirates invests in Algeria, what could be more normal! Except that recently the Algerian government and its media have widely criticized the United Arab Emirates, for reasons that no one knows yet. Very harsh criticism sometimes even goes as far as accusations of conspiracy against the Algerian military regime. he exclaims Observer of Morocco and Africa.

Azadea is a retail company that owns and operates more than 40 international franchises in fashion and accessories, food and beverage, home furnishings, sporting goods, multimedia, beauty and cosmetics in the Middle East and Africa.

With more than 13,500 employees, the company has an infrastructure that includes more than 700 stores in 14 countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and the United States States. United Arab Emirates.