Jollibee names CEO of China operations

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) announced yesterday the appointment of Jeffrey Chao as chief executive officer for Yonghe King, its recently-acquired fastfood business in China.

JFC president and chief executive officer Tony Tan Caktiong said Chao, who has spent 20 years building the food service business, will provide the leadership that will bring Yonghe King to the next level of growth in China. "Jeffrey has a solid track record of building fastfood business in China and has the unique combination of excellent operation skills and entrepreneural instincts," Tan Caktiong said.

Chao replaced Lin Yu Au, who has been elected honorary chairman of the board of Belmont Enterprises Ventures Ltd., the holding company of the Yonghe King business.

Tan Caktiong said sales of Yonghe King surged 44 percent in the first half of the year to $15 million. In 2003, total sales of the Yonghe Group reached about $ 24 million.

JFC acquired 85 percent ownership of the Yonghe King business in March 2004 for $22.5 million. As of end-May this year, the total number of Yonghe King stores worldwide has reached 1,099.

Under the agreement, JFC will make a bonus payment to the sellers within the next three years if a certain profit after tax is achieved.

The Yonghe King restaurant, which started in 1995 in Shanghai, serves Chinese food using a Western fast food service system. It operates 26 stores in Shanghai, 26 in Beijing, 11 in Shenzhen, eight in Wuhan and six in Hangzhou.

JFC said the acquisition was in line with its international expansion and provides the group with an opportunity to become a major regional player in the quick-service restaurant business in Asia.

Jollibee officials expect the Yonghe King fastfood business to add about five percent to the JFC Group’s total system-wide sales.

JFC operates the largest fastfood chain in the Philippines with a total of 978 stores as of end-May this year: 474 Jollibee, 257 Chowking, 218 Greenwich and 29 Delifrance. It also operates 121 stores abroad as of the same period.