Tag: KFC

Cops and Courts

Video at Russian KFC: one man knocks another unconscious with ‘jaw-crushing right hook’; and U.K. man to be tried in horrific attack on 17-year-old at Hut

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*; updated 3:02 p.m.

Crime scene tapeAt a KFC in Russia, one man cold-cocked another diner out cold in an incident caught on video by a witness who described it as “the hardest punch I’ve ever seen.”

In the background of the video, according to the U.K.’s Daily Star, a large man dressed in a blue polo shirt engages in an escalating war of words with another diner in a pink sleeveless vest. The man in the vest appears to try and grab his dining partner, “but it’s clearly a mistake — the man in blue pushes him away “before launching a jaw-crushing right hook.”

The Daily Star story doesn’t say when the fight took place. Here’s the video:

Pizza Hut

In the U.K. 18 miles south of London, a 32-year-old man accused of raping, stabbing and kidnapping a teenage girl last month will face trial in November. The incident started at a Pizza Hut in Epsom, according to news reports.

The man, Costica Voedes of Epsom, has been charged with two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of rape, kidnap, false imprisonment, possession of an offensive weapon, affray and common assault, according to the Epsom Guardian. He will be tried at Guildford Crown Court on Nov. 21, with the trial expected to last seven days.

Voedes did not appear at a pre-trial preparation hearing at Guildford Crown Court yesterday, and so did not enter a plea, the Guardian said.

Surrey police said the charges relate to an incident that took place shortly after 10.30 p.m. on June 17 — a Friday — at the Pizza Hut restaurant on Waterloo Road and Court Recreation Ground. Police say Voedes burst into the outlet and dragged the 17-year-old girl outside, later raping her at a nearby recreation ground, according to the Sun.

A restaurant employee  who rushed to intervene was also attacked and injured, the Sun said.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants in five countries. With that many locations, crimes inevitably will occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Latest Headlines

Lexington judge won’t budge on $5.3M bias award against UPS; Humana’s got slim chance beating anti-trusters; BF nabs top disability award; and Chinese nationalists expand protests beyond KFC

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:37 p.m.

UPS: This morning in Lexington, Ky., a Fayette Circuit judge denied a motion to overturn a jury’s April verdict and $5.3 million in damages to eight black men who claimed a hostile work environment at a UPS facility in the city. Judge Ernesto Scorscone also rejected UPS attorney Neal Shah’s motion for a new trial. Shah didn’t have any comment after the hearing (Herald-Leader).

HUMANA and Aetna have only a slight chance to reverse the Justice Department’s decision yesterday to block their $37 billion merger, analysts and investors told Reuters, even as the two insurance giants promise to fight tooth and nail to win. “My initial impression from the complaint . . . is that the Justice Department and the states are on much safer ground” in their argument against an Aetna-Humana, said Beau Buffier, co-head of the antitrust group at Shearman & Sterling in New York (Reuters). Meanwhile, New Hampshire and Florida — with an especially big population of seniors — joined the Justice Department suit filed yesterday to block its $37 billion acquisition by Aetna of Hartford; Illinois joined the suit yesterday (Union Leader and News 4 Jax).

Humana logoIn more encouraging news, Humana was awarded a six-year Defense Department contract for the East Region of TRICARE, the military health care program providing benefits to service members, retirees and their families. Under the award, Humana’s service area would expand to about six million beneficiaries in a 30-state region. The Louisville-based insurer already has the contract for the South Region: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, most of Texas and the Ft. Campbell-area in Kentucky. The new East Region is a combination of the current South and North regions (press release). The contract is worth $41 million (Federal News Radio). Humana’s announcement, nearly buried in yesterday’s DOJ news, to exit eight of 19 state health-care exchanges drew critics, who saw the move as a direct challenge to the Obama administration to block the Humana-Aetna merger (New York Post).

BROWN-FORMAN was awarded a score of 100 in the 2016 Disability Equality Index survey, by the US Business Leadership Network and the American Association of People with Disabilities. The survey awarded points in four major categories: culture and leadership, company-wide access, employment practices, and community engagement and support services. This year, 83 Fortune 1000-size companies completed the survey; two-thirds of these top the Fortune 500 list; complete list (news release).

KFC: Chinese nationalists have added iPhones and Continue reading “Lexington judge won’t budge on $5.3M bias award against UPS; Humana’s got slim chance beating anti-trusters; BF nabs top disability award; and Chinese nationalists expand protests beyond KFC” →

Latest Headlines

BF starts distribution system in Spain; GE Appliances owner Haier dragged into GOP China politics; and Tenn. man arrested over 20 lbs. of marijuana allegedly shipped via UPS

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:55 p.m.

BROWN-FORMAN announced this morning that it’s launching its own distribution network in Spain, Europe’s third-largest whiskey market and the world’s ninth-biggest overall. The Louisville spirits giant will add about 40 employees in the expansion. The current distributor is Importaciones y Exportaciones Varma S.A. under a contract that will end June 30, 2017. “Establishing our own distribution organization in Spain will support the development of the Jack Daniel’s trademark as well as our broader portfolio in this dynamic market where premium spirits are growing,” said Thomas Hinrichs, president of Brown-Forman’s Europe and Asia markets.

Spain will join Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and the U.K. as markets where Brown-Forman owns or directly manages its own distribution. (press release). The company employs 1,300 workers in Louisville and another 3,300 across the U.S. and around the globe.

Trump and Pence
Trump and Pence

GE: Haier Group has been drawn into the bitterly contested Republican race for the White House, less than two months after the Chinese company completed its $5.6 billion purchase of GE Appliances. The conservative Federalist website says Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s past support of Haier’s research and development center in Evansville, Ind., is an example of the politician’s helping China “steal” U.S. jobs. Although Donald Trump has run on a campaign attacking U.S.-China trade, the website implies his selection of  Pence as running mate casts doubt on the GOP nominees’ anti-China bonafides (Federalist). In the past, the site has sparked stories in more mainstream media, including Politico and The Daily Beast.

Haier Pence
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, second from right, and Haier Group President Liang Haishan, far right, at the Evansville ribbon-cutting.

A year ago, Pence joined Haier executives at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Evansville center. The pro-trade America China Society of Indiana quoted Pence saying at the time: “When I met with Haier executives in China this spring, I was invigorated by the company’s plans to accelerate technology development in Indiana. In addition to our strong workforce and pro-growth business climate, Indiana has quickly become a center for innovation, making the Hoosier State the natural choice for this facility as Haier continues to increase its presence in the United States” (America China Society). GE Appliances employs 6,000 workers at Appliance Park in Louisville’s south end.

UPS: In Spring City, Tenn., a man was arrested and charged with drug trafficking after Rhea County Sheriff’s deputies caught him with 20 lbs. of marijuana he allegedly received via UPS from California. Sheriff’s investigator Charlie Jenkins said the man, George Robert Luttenberger Jr., told him he’d been getting pot from California since 2012 (Herald-News). In Brooklyn, a federal judge allowed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to proceed with a lawsuit accusing UPS of discriminating against male workers and job applicants who wore beards or long hair for religious reasons (Reuters).

PAPA JOHN’S fired a Denver employee who used a racial slur on a customer’s order slip and apologized to the teenager who placed the pizza order. “This action is inexcusable and doesn’t reflect our company values,” company spokesman Peter Collins told the Denver Post.

This was the second instance in less than a month where a Papa John’s employee was fired over an apparently racist order slip circulated on Twitter; the first one involved an Asian-American customer’s order at a Louisville restaurant near the end of June.

The Denver area restaurant is owned by Peyton Manning, the retired Denver Broncos quarterback who’s promoted Papa John’s in TV commercials. The teenager’s mother saw the order ticket and asked a community activist named Brother Jeff Fard for help (Denver Post). Yesterday, Fard sent a Tweet that included a possibly NSFW photo of the racial slur: Continue reading “BF starts distribution system in Spain; GE Appliances owner Haier dragged into GOP China politics; and Tenn. man arrested over 20 lbs. of marijuana allegedly shipped via UPS” →

Latest Headlines

Analysts: Papa John’s outlook brighter amid civil unrest; Humana stock edges up after DOJ shocker; and Louisville’s big on $1,500 apartments

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 10:39 a.m.

Papa John's vs. S&P July 20
Papa John’s stock, in blue, has zoomed ahead of the S&P 500 index over the past three months, when civil unrest has been in the news.

PAPA JOHN’S stock jumped 3.7% to $71.69 a share in the first hour of trading, after Wall Street analysts upgraded the Louisville pizza chain on the surprising view that diners, concerned about political and civil unrest, are choosing to stay home for pizza delivery rather than go out for a meal. “After speaking with several large operators and industry contacts,” KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts said yesterday, “we believe the recent decline in casual dining restaurant segment fundamentals — traffic down 3% to 5% the past several weeks — may be the result of consumers eating more at home amid the current political/social backdrop, which we believe could last through the November election.” The company’s stock has jumped 22% in the last three months vs. a much smaller 3% gain in the broader S&P 500 index (MarketWatch and Google Finance). Louisville-based Papa John’s employs 750 workers at its headquarters, and another 21,000 across the globe. More about the company.

HUMANA‘s stock rose 74 cents to $154.12 a share a day after word surfaced the Justice Department was poised to block the Louisville insurer’s $37 billion acquisition by Aetna of Hartford. Aetna climbed 74 cents to $115.84. Yesterday, Humana tumbled 4%, and Aetna fell 2.7% (Google Finance). Humana employs 12,500 workers in its Louisville corporate hometown.

KFC: In New Zealand, franchisee Restaurant Brands hasn’t ruled out home delivery of KFC now that McDonald’s has started offering the service. But CEO Russel Creedy said KFC had tried home delivery before and found customers preferred drive-throughs rather than waiting for their chicken to be brought to their front door. Creedy’s franchise already has experience with delivery through its Pizza Hut restaurants (New Zealand Herald).

FORD‘s Flat Rock Assembly Plant south of Detroit — where the popular Mustang and Fusion are built –- caught fire around 7 last night and forced a partial evacuation of the sprawling 400-acre complex that employs 3,200 workers. No injuries were reported (Detroit Free Press). In Louisville, Ford employs nearly 10,000 workers at two vehicle and truck assembly factories.

Amazon logoAMAZON is signing up amateur drivers in the U.K. to deliver packages in their spare time from distribution centers to customers’ homes, expanding a system it started last year in its corporate hometown of Seattle. Starting this month in Birmingham, a smartphone app will allow the company’s part-time mules to choose when and where they want to work, as well as guiding them to customers’ homes and allowing customers to track their orders (Financial Times).

PIZZA HUT: With the Aug. 5 start of the Summer Olympics closing in, Pizza Hut has launched its patriot-themed Big Flavor Dipper in a red-white-and-blue box emblazoned with “Go USA!”

In other news, Louisville ranked No. 6 among 30 U.S. cities offering the biggest apartments renting for $1,500 a month, according to a new Rent Cafe report. The top 10:

  1. Memphis: 1,948 square feet
  2. Oklahoma City: 1,786
  3. Indianapolis: 1,724
  4. El Paso: 1,667
  5. Columbus, Ohio: 1,667
  6. Louisville: 1,648
  7. Jacksonville, Fla.: 1,579
  8. Las Vegas: 1,546
  9. Phoenix: 1,415
  10. Fort Worth: 1,389

In contrast, New York City had the smallest apartments, at 271 square feet (MarketWatch and Rent Cafe).

Media and Marketing
Greg Creed
Creed

“I think George Hamilton, as the new Colonel behind Extra Crispy is brilliant and that is having a positive impact on our sales momentum at KFC in the U.S.”

— Yum CEO Greg Creed, in a second-quarter earnings teleconference with Wall Street analysts last week. The perpetually tanned Hamilton debuted a month ago as the latest in a series of KFC Founder Harland Sanders impersonators. Here’s one of the spots:

Latest Headlines

Taco Bell fires cashier who refused to serve deputies; protestors target KFC over South China Sea ruling; and Papa John’s is going to pot in Amsterdam

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 9:01 p.m.

TACO BELL fired an unidentified cashier at a restaurant in Phenix City, Ala., who refused to serve two uniformed deputies Saturday after another customer complained about the officers being there. A company spokesperson said the fast food chain had also apologized to the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. The firing came after a woman whose husband worked with the two men complained on Facebook about how the two officers were treated. Since Tammy Bush Mayo first wrote about the incident, her Facebook post has been shared more than 1,200 times (KTVI).

KFC: Dozens of people gathered in front of a KFC in northern China over the weekend, turning the restaurant into the latest victim of a wave of nationalism after an international tribunal ruling on the South China Sea. They carried long red banners with slogans that read: “Boycott US, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, love the Chinese nation,” and, “You are eating KFC from the US, and losing the face of our ­ancestors” (South China Morning Post).

Jack Daniel'sBROWN-FORMAN: Jack Daniel’s supplanted scotch as the U.K.’s favorite whiskey because of a post-recession shift in drinking habits.“There has been an upsurge in the number of people drinking at home, and Jack Daniel’s is a party drink,” says Alwynne Gwilt, who runs the Miss Whisky Blog. scotch, a traditional favorite, “just doesn’t have the same excitement.” The excitement associated with Jack Daniel’s also comes down to its relentless advertising campaigns (Guardian).

AMAZON has received a patent for dr0ne docking stations on street light posts, cellphone towers  and buildings so the flying delivery robots can recharge and download information about an impending thunderstorm or other weather activity. The retailer imagines some stations providing perches for two or more drones, and the stations may be equipped with solar panels, according to the patent granted earlier this month (Silicon Beat).

PAPA JOHN’S has settled a lawsuit seeking class-action status over claims it wrongly charged sales tax on delivery fees in Madison County, Ill. The settlement calls for $165,000 in attorney fees; a $2,000 “case contribution award” to the lead plaintiff, and purchase discounts of between $1 and $3 for qualified customers. According to the agreement, Papa John’s stopped charging sales tax on delivery fees on Oct. 1 (Madison-St. Clair Record).

Amsterdam coffee shopSeparately, the Louisville-based pizza giant opened a store in Amsterdam today, its first in Holland, continuing its expansion in Europe. Papa John’s has more than 320 restaurants in the U.K., four in Spain, and recently opened its first in Northern France. The company is currently looking for potential franchisees in other areas of France, as well as Poland, Czech Republic and Belgium (press release).

The Amsterdam location may well become one of Papa John’s most profitable in the world, given the liberal laws around marijuana use in the city. There are more than 250 “coffee shops” selling marijuana there, leading to millions of annual visitors getting the munchies.