Jollibee sets up holding firm for US operations

Bullish on its growth prospects abroad, fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) will create a new international holding company to directly manage its businesses in the United States.

During the company’s special stockholders meeting yesterday, JFC chairman and president Tony Tan Caktiong said the move is in line with the group’s continued commitment in its businesses in the US.

"We are creating a new US holding company, a US corporation in order to set a stronger structure for the Jollibee group’s sustained business growth. We remain optimistic that we will succeed in the United States as we continue to increase our learning on how to do business here," Tan Caktiong said.

At the same time, he announced that the JFC Group will open at least seven new stores in California and Hawaii in the next few months. This will bring the group’s total branch network in the US from 11 to 18 by the end of the year.

Also, the merger of offshore units Superior FSC Corp. and FSC Foods Corp. with JFC was approved by the local fastfood giant’s shareholders in the same meeting yesterday. FSC Foods owns the eight Jollibee branches in the US.

JFC chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa said the merger was done as a step to complete a reorganization of the group’s US business. "Part of the objective of this reorganization is to set a stronger legal structure where JFC will be shielded from any undue legal claims that may arise from its US operation," Baysa said.

All the assets and liabilities of FSC Foods and Superior that will go to JFC will be transferred to the new US holding company by January next year.

Baysa, however, stressed that JFC will not absorb any additional debt or liability with this restructuring nor experience any dilution of its ownership.

The Jollibee stores in the US are located mainly around the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas.

Of the 11 stores currently in operation, eight are Jollibee restaurants and three are Tomi’s Teriyaki, a Japanese fastfood restaurant acquired by the JFC Group in 2001.

Recently, a Jollibee store and a Tomi’s Teriyaki store opened in San Jose, California.

Two more Jollibee stores are expected to open soon – one in West Covina in November and another in Miramesa in December – both in the state of California.

The JFC Group is accelerating its restaurant expansion program this year as it aims to put up 80 to 100 new stores both here and abroad to further enhance its market leadership.

The expansion will enable the fastfood firm to tap new or underserved trade areas as well as to widen its lead over competition. These new stores will comprise JFC’s flagship business, Jollibee; Chowking, Greenwich, Delifrance, and Tomi’s Teriyaki.

The Jollibee brand is one of the most well-known and strongest consumer brands in the country, serving burgers and crispy chicken. Chowking 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. Tomi’s Teriyaki, meanwhile, is JFC’s entry in the Japanese-themed fast food service industry.

Last year, the company put up 70 new stores or a total branch network of 902. Of the 902, Jollibee accounted for 457 (inclusive of stores abroad), Greenwich (191 stores), Chowking (224 inclusive of stores overseas), Delifrance (2) and Tomi’s (2). JFC’s existing network is the largest of any company in the Philippines.