Jollibee Foods Corporation, the largest Asian fast-food company in the world, is aiming to generate 50 percent, from the initial 30 percent, of its total sales coming from its global enterprises within the next five to seven years, the company's chief executive told Reuters on Thursday.
In an interview, CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said that the fast-food chain would also like to double its revenue in five years as it continues to expand its reach. According to Tanmantiong, this is a perfect opportunity for Jollibee to take advantage of since dealmaking in the restaurant sector is currently on the rise.
The restaurant big boss, however, said that there's a lot of negotiations going on. Still only a few had made it through the final agreement.
By expansion, Tanmantiong doesn't only mean expanding its own chains. Part of Jollibee's strategy is corporate acquisitions.
The CEO told the news agency that the food company doesn't really have a particular preference. Regardless of the size of the prospect, Tanmantiong said that Jollibee is open for any strategic acquisitions as long as they belong to the foodservice industry and is offering a superior product to its customers.
It is also important that the target has the scope to scale up.
Jollibee is currently valued at $5 billion. The popular Filipino restaurant has 4,300 stores operating under 14 brands in more than 20 countries.
In the Philippines, the bee company holds an exclusive license to operate Burger King. The firm is also running the Dunkin Donuts operation in China, the Highlands Coffee in Vietnam, and the Smashburger in the US.
Chinese Market
According to Tanmantiong, taking a strong foothold in the Chinese food market as well as in the United States is key for Jollibee to realize its expansion plans.
What Jollibee has to do is to follow the formula of success that it has been using in the Philippines by operating multiple food brands in China and US.
In China alone, Jollibee has already opened eight branches in Hong Kong while having the first in Macau, the Manila Standard said.
Majority of the restaurant's target clientele is the 40,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) that are residing in respective Chinese territories.
Meanwhile, the publication has also reported the recent successful opening of Jollibee in Europe, at the historic Piazza Diaz in Milan, Italy, last March 2018. Following that was the company's plan to open its first outlet in the United Kingdom within this year.
Initially, in London, Jollibee will later expand to other major UK cities including Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham, this report added.
