Jollibee eyes yet another global brand

MANILA, Philippines — Jollibee Foods Corp. of tycoon Tony Tan Caktiong wants to bring more of its international brands in other areas across the globe as it doubles down on global expansion plans.

Richard Shin, chief financial officer of the homegrown fast-food giant, told reporters on Thursday that their recent commitment to invest up to $90 million in Singaporean currency (around P3.75 billion) in Titan Dining II LP (Titan Fund II) could bring in a global brand it owned “that is not in this part of the world.”

“A specific brand has been identified but I would rather wait [until] we properly disclose which brand that is and which geography we are investing in,” Shin said during a media roundtable discussion.

READ: Jollibee lays out P3.75B to bolster brands

Titan Fund II is a private equity fund based in Singapore. Jollibee first invested in Titan Fund I, which owns the Tim Ho Wan brand.

The company known for the widely popular Chickenjoy currently has 18 brands in its portfolio, including international brands such as Colorado-based Smashburger, and Beijing-based Hong Zhuang Yuan and Yonghe King. These three brands are not yet present in the Philippines.

Stepping up expansion in Asia

This year, Jollibee aims to accelerate expansion in Asia — particularly China through Yonghe King — and North America.

The company has set aside a P20-billion capital spending budget to support plants to open up to 750 new stores within the year, both locally and in other countries.

Of the 750 stores, Shin said 80 percent or 600 would be in international markets—as they were catching up on global expansion—while 20 percent or 150 would be in the Philippines.

READ: Jollibee to raise up to P8B from preferred share sale 

Jollibee earlier unveiled plans for a P8-billion preferred share offering this year. Of the target proceeds, P5 billion will be reserved for expansion and growth projects, while the rest will be used to refinance loans due this year, Shin said.

In the United States, Jollibee views both KFC and Popeyes as its biggest competitors. There was no mention of McDonald’s, which is among its biggest competitors in the Philippines and arguably the one of the largest fast-food chains in America.

Jollibee’s average daily sales are currently two and a half to three times that of KFC and Popeyes, Shin noted.

According to him, they have identified 30 “top cities” in the United States that have a preference for fried chicken, which has been Jollibee’s biggest selling point before venturing into the beverage business through Highlands Coffee and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.“In the 30 cities we’ve identified, we’ve looked at where we have stores and where we have white space,” he said.

Footprint in 30 US cities

In order to further expand its footprint in those 30 cities, Shin explained they were looking to tap franchisees while ensuring that their menu offering was “relevant” to American consumers.

Jollibee currently has 100 stores in North America, with 72 in the United States alone and 28 in Canada. The company previously said it wanted to grow this to 500 stores within five to seven years.

“It really depends on our ability to shift from being great operators to being equally great franchisers. Franchisees who are in those 30 big cities will look at us as a viable option and alternative. If we do that, that 500-store [goal] can really explode,” Shin said.

In 2023, Jollibee saw its earnings grow by 16 percent to P8.8 billion on stronger sales and better cost controls, with the company saying that it wanted to triple profits to over P26 billion in five years. —Meg J. Adonis