Jollibee opens 1,000th store; plans expansion in JAPAN, Canada

Homegrown fast-food chain Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has cemented its leadership in the local quick-service restaurant industry with the opening yesterday of its 1,000th Philippine store in BGC, a major central business district in the metropolis.

Jollibee also plans to bring this flagship brand to new overseas markets like Japan, Australia and Malaysia. It is also planning a big comeback for the flagship brand in Guam and preparing to expand in the US and Canada with the opening of stores in Manhattan (US) and Toronto (Canada).

“The aspiration and dream is to really make Jollibee a truly global brand. Today we have 1,000 (Jollibee) stores in Philippines and close to 200 outside the Philippines,” Jollibee chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said in an interview during the opening of the newest store at the BGC Triangle Drive in Taguig yesterday.

Jollibee’s 1,000th milestone branch in Taguig is the sixth Jollibee store in BGC and the 16th in the city of Taguig.

“Taguig City is still a work in progress,” Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said during the inauguration of the newest store. “Jollibee is very much part of the success story of Taguig.”

The store features the latest modern tropical design concept to appeal to all customers, especially the younger crowd. It has a seating capacity of 250 and two spacious party areas as well as interactive tables to entertain children. It is one of the Jollibee stores that operates 24/7 as it caters to the office and residential communities in the BGC central business district.

As of end-May, JFC had 3,555 stores worldwide across 12 brands in 17 countries. Other brands include the likes of Chowking, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Greenwich and even foreign brands like popular noodle chain Yonghe King in China.

JFC’s capital spending budget of P14.7 billion this year is the biggest in the company’s history and is much bigger than last year’s actual spending of P6.7 billion.—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA