Jollibee brands sprout across China, the group’s new playground

Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is stepping up the expansion of its three major brands in mainland China, riding on the latter’s rapid economic rebound after being ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far this year, JFC has opened 80 new stores in China, its second largest overseas market, under its Tim Ho Wan, Yonghe King and Hong Zhuang Yuan brands, while 33 more stores are set to open this December, the company said in a disclosure.

“The expansion efforts of these brands will play a huge and important role in generating revenue and strengthening the Jollibee group’s growth, especially since China is one of the company’s four pillar markets,” said Jollibee group president and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong.

Outside the Philippines, JFC’s biggest offshore market is North America, which accounts for about 15 percent of total sales, excluding Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which separately accounts for about 11 percent, based on analyst estimates.

China is JFC’s second largest overseas market with a share of over 10 percent in terms of sales. Another big offshore market is Vietnam.

Michelin-star Tim Ho Wan, which debuted in mainland China last September 2020, now operates six stores across Shanghai. The group is planning to aggressively grow Tim Ho Wan in this market, targeting to have about 100 outlets within five years.

Chinese fast-food chain Yonghe King has opened 62 new stores so far this 2021, bringing its total store count to 383. Yonghe King recently entered the Shaanxi Province with two stores in Xi’an City and is set to open its first store in Hainan Province.

The brand is scheduled to open a total of 23 more stores this December. The target is to reach 1,000 stores in five years.

Highest allotment

Meanwhile, congee restaurant Hong Zhuang Yuan now has a total of 44 stores across Beijing. It serves the Chinese capital’s top-rated congee according to DianPing, China’s most popular restaurant-review app.

After previously focusing operations in residential areas, Hong Zhuang Yuan is now planning to open stores in the top 10 shopping malls in Beijing and other shopping malls outside the city as it aims to have a network of 60 stores by the end of 2021.

Outside these three brands, JFC also operates seven franchised stores of western brand Dunkin Donut.

A total of P12.2 billion was allotted for the group’s capital expenditures for 2021, the highest in the company’s history, with a focus on expansion in Asian countries. This is aligned with the group’s vision to be among the top five restaurant companies in the world.

When the pandemic erupted, JFC shelled out P7 billion to embark on a significant global business restructuring. JFC had to temporarily close a huge number of stores in 2020, resulting in a net loss of P11.5 billion.

But it vowed to emerge as an “even stronger business and organization” as it posted a net profit of P2.7 billion at end-September this year.