The days when fried chicken was synonymous with a certain white-haired southern gentleman are over, at least in the U.S. A new champion has claimed the chicken crown: Chick-fil-A. The Atlanta-based chain has surpassed KFC in total U.S. sales, taking in $5 billion last year to KFC’s $4.22 billion, according to Technomic.
The change atop the leaderboard appears undisputed: Yum! Brands (YUM), which owns KFC and has for years prided itself as “the leader in the U.S. chicken [quick-service restaurant] segment,” removed that very phrase from the company’s most recent annual report. But anyone in the northern half of the U.S. is likely scratching her head and wondering why she hasn’t seen Chick-fil-A outlets opening in the neighborhood. Check out the map below of Chick-fil-A locations, with a heavy concentration in the South.
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Last year Chick-fil-A only had about 1,775 U.S. stores to KFC’s 4,491. Yet in dollar terms the Colonel is coming up short even with that much larger footprint: Chick-fil-A’s 2013 sales exceeded its larger rival’s by nearly $800 million in the U.S. in 2013. And that’s with zero dollars coming in to Chick-fil-A on Sundays, when every restaurant is closed.._1<<.