Jollibee’s Chowking tops P10-B sales mark in 2007

Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. said sales of its Oriental food chain unit Chowking Food Corp. breached the P10-billion mark last year, representing an increase of 13 percent over the previous year as it rolled out 36 new stores and beefed up its marketing and sales campaigns.  

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Jollibee said Chowking ended 2007 with total sales P10.1 billion, P1 billion of which came from operations overseas.   

In December alone, Chowking posted its highest monthly sales of P1 billion as the Christmas holiday season drew more customers.    

For this year, Chowking is eyeing sales of P11.3 billion as it plans to add 36 new stores to its Philippine network of 375 and 10 new stores to its international network of 26 stores located in the US, Middle  East and Asia.  

Chowking president Rufino Dela Rosa pointed out that the company has grown more than five-fold in the past seven years or at a compounded rate of 23 percent per annum.

“We are glad our best efforts to delight our customers paid off despite a tough year for business,”  he said.  

Among the major challenges the company faced last year were the shrinking purchasing power of its OFW customers due to the 36 percent appreciation of the peso against the dollar, the increased cost of raw  materials, particularly the 30-percent rise in flour prices and higher utility  costs as a result of escalating fuel prices.  

To achieve its sales target, Chowking will introduce more affordable and delicious food items starting off with its new fish tofu with tausi in preparation for the start of the Lenten season.  

In addition, Chowking stores will undergo a make-over which will replace existing seats with leather seats and install cooler lighting and  function rooms  for party food packages.  

Aside from Chowking and flagship store Jollibee, the Jollibee Group owns three other fast-food brands domestically and two in China — Yonghe King and tea house Chun Shui Tang.  

Jollibee owns pizza pasta chain Greenwich, Red Ribbon bakeshop and Delifrance, an upscale  delicatessen. 

The Jollibee Group is expanding aggressively overseas as part of a strategy to become a major regional fast-food company in Asia.