Nov 4 (Reuters) - Yum Brands ( YUM ) said on Tuesday it

was exploring strategic options for its Pizza Hut chain as the

unit struggles to keep pace in a highly competitive fast-food

industry vying for sales from a stressed consumer.

"Pizza Hut's performance indicates the need to take

additional action to help the brand realize its full value,

which may be better executed outside of Yum Brands ( YUM )," Yum Brands' ( YUM )

new CEO, Chris Turner, said in a statement.

The chain's sales have lagged Yum Brands' ( YUM ) other prominent

units, Taco Bell and KFC International, falling for seven

consecutive quarters. In comparison, Taco Bell last reported

negative comparable sales in June 2020.

Pizza Hut accounts for about 11% of Yum Brands' ( YUM ) operating

profits, compared with about 38% for Taco Bell's U.S. business.

Several quarters of price hikes at restaurants, sticky

inflation and economic uncertainty have forced consumers to

become more wary about dining out as they look to stretch their

budgets. Still, pizzas are viewed as a value-option to feed

families.

Industry giant Domino's Pizza said in October that

although fast-food traffic was slowing, consumers were still

seeking out its pizzas, helped by promotions and new menu items,

as well as its delivery partnerships with third-party

aggregators such as Doordash ( DASH ) and UberEats.

While Pizza Hut has also offered value deals such as various

personal pizzas for $5 and $2, "an insufficient value message

amid a competitive value landscape resulted in transaction

softness," company veteran and former CEO David Gibbs said in

August.

Packaged food giant PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in 1977, but

spun off the chain along with KFC ( YUM ) and Taco Bell in 1997 to

create a restaurants company, which took on the name Yum Brands ( YUM )

in 2002.

A deadline to complete Pizza Hut's strategic review has not

been set, and there was no assurance that the process would

result in a transaction, Yum Brands ( YUM ) said on Friday.