The company is taking advantage of the expanding consumer market in the three countries to grow its brands, JFC chairman Tony Tan Caktiong told reporters after the company’s stockholders’ meeting in Pasig City last Friday.
“As we all know, China has the biggest population or consumer market. The US, although they are not number one in terms of number of consumers, its consumer market is still one of the biggest [in the world,” he said, while noting that the Philippines remains the most important market for Jollibee.
Currently, majority of revenues come from the Philippines, followed by China at 12 percent and the US at five percent.
Businesses in Vietnam add three percent to total revenues while the balance come from the Middle East and other locations.
Expansion in these priority growth areas will help the company achieve its target of ranking with top QSRs in the world, hopefully in seven years, JFC CFO Ysmael Baysa said in the same event.
“One is we will continue to grow organically our existing business. We want to grow even faster in the Philippines and China,” he said.
“In addition to that, we will continue to acquire more businesses, particularly in the US. And depending on the size of acquisition, the growth of international business and of the company can be very fast,” he added.
Jollibee has three brands in China – Hong Zhuang Yuan, San Pin Wang and Yonghe King.
In the US, Jollibee has imported its namesake brand, focusing more on the Filipino population, but is also on the lookout for a US QSR brand.
Tan Caktiong said they are looking at a brand already doing well and does not need a turnaround in business. Currently, JFC is talking with a number of brands but the official declined to divulge further details.
“In the US, the challenge is their brands are doing well and pricing is quite high. It will be a challenge to get the right brand with the right valuation,” he said.
“We are hoping we can do something in the next 12 months.
But while JFC has defined the three countries as priority areas, the fastfood giant is still excited to bring its several brands in other territories.
Tan Caktiong said the Southeast Asian region will remain in the company’s radar for expansion.
Read more on Philippine Star.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
