  | Pete Bassi 70, M.B.A. '73, is responsible for 10,000 Tricon restaurants outside the United States. | |||||||||
Pete Bassi, Sizzling Around the GlobeBy Dave Lavallee '79, M.P.A. '87 When people in Asia want American-style fast food, their first choice is often KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) or Pizza Hut, not McDonald's or Burger King. In fact, a typical KFC restaurant in China serves about 10,000 customers a week, while in the United States the average KFC restaurant serves about 3,000 customers a week. "In many of our markets outside the U.S., KFC is as strong or stronger than McDonalds," said Pete Bassi, the president of Tricon Restaurants International, a subsidiary of Tricon Global, the umbrella organization for Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. Tricon was formed when Pepsico spun off its restaurant businesses in 1997. Bassi, a Providence native who earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1970 and his M.B.A. in 1973 from URI, is responsible for 10,000 Tricon restaurants outside the United States and the explosion of their popularity. Company reports on this year's second quarter tell the story: "Tricon's international business continues to deliver excellent results with ongoing operating profits up 20 percent, on top of 59 percent growth last year." The second quarter was the eighth straight quarter of 20 percent or better growth in operating profits. Solid sales growth and 695 new restaurant openings over the past year drove those great numbers, including 430 KFCs, 240 Pizza Huts, and 25 Taco Bells. Yearly sales for Tricon Restaurants International are in excess of $7 billion. As Bassi told a group of URI alumni, staff, and friends at this fall's URI CEO Leadership Forum, "American fast food in the global market is truly an exciting and energizing business." Bassi, who has been with Pepsico/Tricon since 1972, said there are several reasons why the global market for American fast food is so exciting. "One reason is that our restaurants outside the U.S. are much more complex," Bassi said. "For instance, in the U.S. much of KFC business is take-out chicken in the bucket, while in Asia there is much more sit-down dining and sandwich and finger foods. We also leverage a lot of our thinking in the U.S. to our world markets." According to Bassi, there are very few places in the world that have the Yankee-go-home attitude. "Most spots in Asia are very pro-American," Bassi said. "And chicken is the preferred protein in Asia, over beef. KFC is a powerful product." In fact American consumers might be surprised to learn that McDonalds sells chicken on the bone in many Asian markets. In the pizza world, South Korea is the top market in the world, with the United Kingdom a strong second, Bassi said. Pizza Hut is the strongest fast food brand in Korea. "In South Korea, we were the first chain to offer fine, casual, sit-down dining, so we developed great brand strength," Bassi said. When asked why Koreans jumped at the chance to buy Pizza Hut products, Bassi said it was simple: the chain was the first one there. It's no accident that Koreans feasted on pizza, Bassi said, because it is now the number one food consumed in American homes. He said it would be no different than a non-U.S. company starting a fast food chain here in the '50s with some Americanized concept. "It would have been successful because there were no fast food chains in America at the time, and the market would have been wide open." Bassi said it also helps that South Korea has one of the top 10 economies in the world. The Classical High School graduate said that Tricon's employee focus also keeps the company energized, something he discussed when he visited the Kingston Campus in the spring of 1999 to address a group of students. "We're into reward and recognition because recognition works anywhere in the world. We take our top restaurant managers and their families to Disney World where we provide limousines and round-the-clock translators. It's a rather significant expenditure, but it's important." When Bassi learned that the Team USA basketball team, which was tuning up in Japan for the Summer Olympics, feasted on 25 buckets of KFC, "I sent a note to our guy in Japan saying, 'Glad you're keeping our American athletes fed.' The line we use is that people don't leave your company because they are not paid enough. They leave you because they are not appreciated. Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and everything starts with the guy at the top. Everybody emulates what they see at the top." Bassi has followed that same philosophy in his dealings with the University. When President Robert L. Carothers' future at URI was in doubt last year, Bassi wrote a strong letter of support to The Providence Journal. "I think I am probably more objective about URI than most people because I was removed from URI for more than 20 years," Bassi said. "When I became re-connected, I became really impressed with Bob Carothers' leadership. When I see how a complex organization like URI is developing, the leadership deserves much of the credit." Bassi, who now lives in Dallas with his wife, Barbara, and their son Chris (their grown son Brian lives in Chicago), gets back a few times a year to Rhode Island to visit his mother, who lives in Cranston. He was thrilled to be invited to speak at the CEO Leadership Forum. "This was a big deal," Bassi said. "I've made speeches all over the world, but I had never made a speech in my hometown. It was especially pleasing to speak on behalf of the University of Rhode Island, for which I have a great deal of passion." The business executive is also passionate about spending time with his family and wife of 20 years. "Given my heavy travel demands, I always attempt to strike a good balance between my personal and professional lives. Not always successful, but I try to factor family demands into my travel decisions." v |
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