Jollibee aims to expand foreign sales

Seeing Philippines fast food giant Jollibee abroad always brings overseas Filipino workers a “sense of home.” Thus the community is willing to line up for hours whenever an outlet opens for the first time in their region.

In Macau, Jollibee commenced its operations on June 27 at 11 a.m., where it drew large Filipino crowds lining up as early as 8 a.m.

This scene is common across the Philippines, where Jollibee outsells all other fast-food chains, including Western giants like McDonald’s and KFC.

However, it is the same crowd that also makes it challenging for Jollibee founder and chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, who aims to include his fast food chain giant in the ranks of McDonalds and Yum Brands (including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell), when the food mainly appeals to Filipinos.

As cited in a report issued by Nikkei Asian Review, Jollibee’s sales from its 13 restaurant brands and 3,000 plus outlets worldwide rose 15.2 percent to USD3.4 billion last year.

Euromonitor ranked it as the 16th largest restaurant in the world by sales, excluding convenience stores that also sell cooked meals.

“Since the start of Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) 40 years ago, I have always dreamed it to be the largest food company in the world,” Tan said, in a press statement on June 29 at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

In the Phillippines, JFC operates the largest food service network, operating 2,967 restaurant outlets.

For Tan, the game plan is to keep growing in the Philippines, where around 300 new stores are to be opened every year, and to ramp up expansion in the U.S. and China to bring the share of foreign sales to half of the total from 30 percent currently.

It is reported that a USD1 billion war chest for acquisitions (built from internally generated cash and loans) has been earmarked to accelerate growth.

While the U.S. and China are seen as the company’s growth engines, Jollibee is still focusing on Southeast Asia.

To bankroll its expansion in Asia, next year Jollibee plans to take the company public in Vietnam, Jollibee’s fastest-growing foreign market.

It is also keen on offering its own dishes in new markets across Southeast Asia, such as its signature Chickenjoy fried chicken dish.

Aside from fast food outlet expansion, last year they acquired a majority stake in Super Foods, a Vietnamese company that operates Pho24 restaurants, the Highlands Coffee chain and Hard Rock Cafes mainly in Southeast Asia.

As reported, new Jollibee locations are planned to open everywhere from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia to London later this year.