Early opening hours, group bookings and delivery orders surge as fans flock to franchise stores; bhc's Samsung Station branch logs 15 orders within 10 minutes of opening
South Korea's chicken franchise industry enjoyed an unexpected morning windfall on Friday as the national team took on the Czech Republic in its opening North America World Cup group-stage match.
Sales at two of the country's leading chicken brands — bhc and Genesis BBQ — more than quadrupled compared with the same period the previous week, rising over 300 percent from the morning through 1 p.m.
Despite the unusual 11 a.m. weekday kickoff, franchise stores buzzed with customers from the morning as group viewing parties filled the dining rooms. BBQ moved its app operating hours up to 8 a.m. to accommodate the early start, and most stores opened between 8 and 9 a.m.
"Even during morning hours, some stores received group reservations for as many as 100 people, and orders poured in without stop," a BBQ official said. "Sales from the morning through 1 p.m. were more than four times our usual weekday morning figures — a record."
A reporter visited the bhc store near Samsung Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around 10 a.m. Friday. Despite being a time when orders are normally sparse, order alerts and phone calls rang out without pause. Fifteen receipts had been printed within 10 minutes of the store opening, including several bulk orders of eight or more pieces.
"It's about 10 times our usual order volume," a store employee said. "We normally have two staff on at this hour, but we brought in four today."
Ongoing app-based promotions and discounts from chicken brands amplified the surge. Orders came not only from people watching the match at home but also from office workers who gathered with colleagues to catch the game over lunch.
The industry had initially expected the morning weekday slot to dampen the kind of late-night ordering spikes seen during past tournaments. But strong support for the national team from the very first match appears to have established a new viewing culture — one where fans settle in with fried chicken for a lunchtime kickoff.
"We plan to strengthen our preparations and promotions further so customers can enjoy chicken without any inconvenience during the second and third group-stage matches as well," an industry official said.
ikson@heraldcorp.com
