Jollibee steps up expansion binge

Fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is accelerating its store expansion program this year as it aims to put up 80 to 100 new outlets both here and abroad to further enhance its market leadership.

JFC vice-president for finance Miguel Jose Navarrete told reporters after the company’s stockholders meeting last Friday that the expansion program will enable the fastfood firm to serve new or underserved trade areas as well as widen lead over competition. The Jollibee brand is one of the most well-known and strongest consumer brands in the country, serving mainly burgers and crispy chicken at its flagship stores. Chowking meanwhile, serves Oriental food while Greenwich is one the leading players in the pizza-pasta market.

Delifrance, on the other hand, is a significant player in the French bakery-café segment while the California-based Tomi’s Teriyaki is JFC’s entry in the Japanese-themed fast food service industry.

Last year, the company had put up 70 new stores bringing its total branch network to 902. Of the 902, Jollibee accounted for 457 (inclusive of stores abroad), Greenwich (191 stores), Chowking (224) (inclusive of stores overseas), Delifrance (two) and Tomi’s (two).

JFC’s existing network is the largest of any company in the Philippines.

Jollibee’s international stores stood at 30 as the company did not open any new stores last year. In the first quarter this year, a Jollibee store in California was closed, bringing its total US stores to seven. Jollibee has five Chowking and two Tomi’s Teriyaki branches in the US.

But the JFC store network is slowly but surely attracting more Filipino communities and mainstream American consumers as well.

Navarrete said JFC will continue to seek and seize opportunities in both domestic and foreign markets. He didn’t say which countries outside the Philippines JFC was eyeing but said that Beijing, China was not in its priority list.

He said the company is holding back expansion in China due to the threat from the flu-like virus, which was first reported in the mainland.

"The group’s international expansion strategy remains focused on markets where we believe we can successfully develop the Jollibee brand," Navarrete said.

Navarrete said the company expects flat growth in the second quarter due to slower sales.

He said sales from the Hong Kong stores fell 15-17 percent in April and May, as compared with that of the previous year.

Navarette said the company is sticking to its P1.7-billion capital expenditures this year, of which P800 million will be poured into the construction of a new commissary.

The new commissary in Canlubang, Laguna is expected to be operational by the third quarter. The facility is being built to supply the product requirements of Jollibee stores in Luzon.

Jollibee’s first-quarter net income stood at P270 million or an increase of 32.23 percent from P204 million in the same period last year. The increase was attributed to higher sales, improved margins, cost-cutting measures, and lower interest expenses during the first three months.

System-wide retail sales rose 10 percent to P6.7 billion, 68 percent of which was attributed to local sales, while income from operations grew by 20 to P323 million. Consolidated revenues went up by eight percent to P5.02 billion as against P4.65 billion a year earlier.

Jollibee contributed 68 percent of the total, followed by Chowking (17 percent), Greenwich (11 percent), and smaller business units (four percent).

Navarette said the company is maintaining its outlook of between 10 percent and 15 percent  growth for 2003.