Jollibee allots P1 billion to pay employees during COVID-19 quarantine

MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp said it set aside P1 billion to continue paying employees during the COVID-19 lockdown in the Philippines most populous island group.

The emergency response fund “covers all work teams of Jollibee Group’s offices, stores, commissaries, and logistics centers, including the senior citizens and PWDs assigned to stores under the joint employment program with local government units.”

Employees will continue to get their full month’s salary, and will receive their 13th month pay by April 30, the country's largest fastfood operator said.

Jollibee said it would extend the same assistance to its partner employers to provide financial support to their employees during the lockdown of Luzon, which will end on April 12.

“In these times we know how people are worrying about their safety and how to take care of their families. We want to lessen their worries and we are setting up this fund to help them through this difficult time,” said Jollibee chairman and founder Tony Tan Caktiong in the statement.

Jollibee earlier said it would donate P100 million worth of food packs from its different brands to healthcare workers and on-ground checkpoint personnel.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chicken out? Serve Chickenjoy: How Jollibee took on McDonald's

MANILA -- Instead of chickening out, Jollibee offered fried chicken and focused on a delicious menu, its CEO said, recalling how the firm took on McDonald's to become the Philippines' largest fast food operator.

When McDonald's entered the Philippines at the start of the 1980s, Jollibee only had 12 stores. The young chain's founder, Tony Tan Caktiong, hired a foreign consultant to map out a strategy, said the current CEO, Ernesto Tan Mantiong.

At that time, Jollibee stores were behind in look, equipment, systems and process, except in one area: taste, Tan Mantiong told a recent dinner roundtable with businessmen in Manila.

"Instead of chickening out, we served Chicken Joy," Tan Mantiong said, referring to Jollibee fried chicken, which it eventually exported to its foreign outlets.

"We were warned that when McDonald's entered the country, it tended to wipe out local competitors. We were told to just give it up and do other businesses and not to confront the global giant," he said. "So Tony sought the help of a foreign consultant, who was an expert in corporate strategy."

ICE CREAM BEGINNINGS

Before setting up Jollibee, Tan Caktiong and his then girlfriend, Grace, set up 2 ice cream parlors, one in Cubao and another in Quiapo from a seed capital of P350,000.

"Since they plan on getting married, they applied for a franchise for their livelihood," Tan Mantiong said.

After a few months of operations, Tan Caktiong and his brothers found out that consumers craved hot meals and burgers, which eventually replaced the ice cream-heavy menu, Tan Mantiong said.

"Since we were now selling primarily hot meals and burgers, we thought it would be good to change the name of our stores," he said.

WHY JOLLIBEE?

Naming the business was a long process, Tan Mantiong said. The word "Jolli" was inspired by a helicopter used during the Vietnam war called "Jolly Green Giant," which the Tan family spotted during an exhibit in Clark, while "bee" was suggested by Tan Caktiong’s wife Grace.

Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were inspirations for the group’s mascot, Tan Mantiong earlier shared in an interview with CNBC.

The country’s largest food operator has since introduced different versions of its logo including "flying bee" and a "standing bee."

ASIA’S PRIDE

Jollibee reached its first 1000th store milestone in 2017. Today it has over 1,400 stores in 16 countries, Tan Mantiong said.

The Jollibee group has 6 brands in the Philippines and over 3,420 stores, he said. Globally, the company has a total of 15 brands and over 5,800 stores in 35 countries, he said. 

Jollibee acquired US-based burger chain Smashburger as well as the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf brand. It has invested in Mexican-American Tortas Fronteras, and has franchise interests in other global brands such as Panda Express, Dunkin Donuts and Pho24. 

"It is heartening to know that to this day, the Philippines is the only country in the whole world where a local company beat the global leader in its own game," Tan Mantiong said.

"I’ve learned that it is important to always dream big with passion and commitment. Even when we started out, we dream big and even though many thought it was crazy. And it was that crazy dream that brought us to where we are now," he said.

Even after 40 years, founder Tan Caktiong still has his eyes on potential acquisitions or brands with "great tasting food" and a scalable model, his brother and successor said.

Looking back, with a shoebox of letters from his wife Susan to remind him of past challenges, Tan Mantiong said the company he helped build "had come a long way."

"There will be many more challenges along the way, but I truly believe that the best is yet to come," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Jollibee takes full ownership of Smashburger

MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp on Friday said it has taken full ownership of US-chain Smashburger, raising its stake from 85 to 100 percent.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, JFC said its subsidiary Bee Good! Inc has acquired Smashburger Master LLC's 15 percent stake for $10 million.

"JFC is now the sole owner of the Smashburger business," the restaurant operator said.

"We look forward to the development of Smashburger into a very strong brand and business in the United States," JFC Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said in a statement.

Current Country Head for North America Jose Minana will assume additional responsibility as President of Smashburger, JFC said.

Smashburger has 351 stores, mostly in the United States. Jollibee, meanwhile, operates a total of 3,079 restaurant outlets in the Philippines.

-- with a report by Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Jollibee to open stores in UK, Macau, Manhattan and New York

MANILA - The Philippines' largest food operator Jollibee Food Corp. (JFC) on Wednesday said it would open its first stores in the United Kingdom, Manhattan (USA), and Macau (China) as part of its overseas expansion plans. 

The first Jollibee store in the UK will open on Oct. 20, the outlet in Macau will open on Sept. 28, while branches in Manhattan and in New York will open in a few months, JFC said in a statement. 

"JFC is bringing the company’s well-loved brand to Filipinos abroad to give them a taste of home," JFC said. 

Aside from serving Filipinos overseas, Jollibee said it has "seen success" in serving locals, especially in Vietnam and Brunei where most of their customers are locals. 

In Singapore, more than half of its customers are locals, JFC said. 

"JFC envisions to continue replicating its success in the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong and Singapore in other markets soon," it said. 

The company hopes to be among the world's top 5 largest restaurant companies in terms of market capitalization. To do that, JFC is focusing on the two largest economies, namely China and the US, while sustaining growth in the country. 

JFC recently announced its plans to build a "significant" Mexican food business in the US. It also recently raised its stake in Smashburger to 85 percent for $100 million.

The company in March also opened a Jollibee branch in Milan, Italy its first in Europe.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Freezing opening for first Jollibee in Canada

No freezing weather can stop our bestfriend Jollibee from bringing the JOY to Winnipeg, Canada! #1stJollibeeinCanada pic.twitter.com/i0HZuRmnxi

 — Jollibee (@Jollibee) December 16, 2016

 MANILA - Filipinos braved sub-zero temperatures for a taste of home as Jollibee Foods Corp. opened its first store in Canada, the company said Friday.

The Philippines' largest fast food operator is opening 150 overseas stores overseas from this year to 2017, bringing local favorites such as Chickenjoy and Jolly Spaghetti to Filipino communities.

Customers at the Winnipeg branch, wrapped up in winter coats lined up as early as 7 a.m., waiting for their turn to order.

"No freezing weather can stop our best friend Jollibee from bringing the JOY to Winnipeg, Canada," the company said in its official Twitter account.


The company mascot, Jollibee, wearing a light blue scarf, welcomed customers to the restaurant.

Jollibee, founded by tycoon Tony Tan Caktiong, boasts of being one of the few brands to have beaten American burger giant Mc Donald's.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Jollibee eyes first store in Australia

MANILA - Filipino fast food giant Jollibee plans to open its first store in Australia in the next two years, according to Dennis Flores, vice president for international markets at Jollibee Foods Corporation.

Speaking at the 17th Asia Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition, Flores said that Jollibee is set to expand its reach to four continents.

“Currently, we are present in two [continents], and in the next two years we will see Jollibee in four continents,” Flores said.


“We are doing our best to open our first stores in the UK and Italy next year, and soon in Australia and Japan. We will continue our journey with Jollibee as a truly global brand," he added.

Earlier this week, Jollibee said it was looking to acquire one or two more foreign-owned food suppliers, following its $99 million purchase of 40 percent of U.S.-based chain Smashburger.


 "Maybe we need one or two more acquisitions," Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee chairman, told reporters.

"It will have to be similar size or bigger ones that will really help on the financial side," he added.

Jollibee Foods Corp. currently owns and operates 87 restaurants in the US, 32 of which are Jollibee units, 33 Red Ribbon stores, 19 Chowking stores, and 3 Jinja outlets.

In the Philippines, it is the largest food service network with a total of 2,834 outlets as of August 31, 2015. - with a report from Reuters

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Jollibee to buy 40 pct of US chain Smashburger

MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), through its wholly owned subsidiary Bee Good! Inc., is acquiring 40 percent of US-based burger brand Smashburger.

JFC said it will spend $99 million for the 40 percent equity share of Smashburger, making the transaction its largest acquisition to date, and its largest investment outside the Philippines.

Smashburger, which has 339 restaurants worldwide, estimates system wide sales of approximately $339 million in 2015.

JFC said the purchase will be financed partly from its cash reserves and partly from a 10-year bank borrowing. The deal is expected to be completed within the year.

“This acquisition will make JFC’s presence in the US more significant, going beyond the Filipino market and serving mainstream consumers in the $100 billion US burger market, a food segment which is estimated to be almost three times larger than the pizza, sandwich or coffee segment in terms of sales. This acquisition will make the US one of JFC’s most important markets and drivers of long term growth along with the Philippines, China and the Filipino markets abroad,” JFC chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

JFC currently owns and operates 87 restaurants in the US, 32 of which are Jollibee units, 33 Red Ribbon stores, 19 Chowking stores, and 3 Jinja outlets.

Its system wide sales in the US account for 5 percent of worldwide system wide sales.

In the Philippines, JFC is the largest food service network with a total of 2,834 outlets as of August 31, 2015.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jollibee eyes more US, China outlets

MANILA, Philippines - In line with its goal to become one of the top quick-service restaurants worldwide, fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is focusing on the Philippines, China and the US as priority areas for expansion due to the strong consumer markets in these countries, company officials said.

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

Jollibee group to open 330 new stores

MANILA – Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) said it is investing P9.1 billion in capital expenditures in 2015, 68.5 percent higher than the P5.4 billion spending in 2014.

The firm said a bulk of the spending or about P6.7 billion will be allocated for its Philippine operations while P1.7 billion will be spent for China, and the balance for the US and Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

JFC said it plans to open 330 new stores worldwide, 220 of which are in the Philippines and the remaining 110 overseas.

“The 2015 capital expenditures will be mostly for the store openings and store renovations in the Philippines and foreign operations, and investments in commissary construction and capacity increase in the Philippines,” the company said on Monday.

JFC added that the investments will be financed by its cash reserves and cash expected to be generated from its operations this year.

The Jollibee Group opened a total of 234 new stores in 2014, of which 169 are in the Philippines and 65 are in foreign operation.

As of December 31, 2014, JFC operated 2,301 restaurants in the country under the brands Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal and Burger King.

The firm is also operating 612 stores overseas, more than 400 of which are in China.

JFC posted profits of P5.27 billion in 2014, 12.7 percent higher than the amount generated in 2013 on the back of increased system wide sales.

JFC said its system wide sales, which measure all sales to consumers both from company-owned and franchised stores, grew by 13.3 percent in 2014.

JFC’s Philippine business grew by 13.2 percent while its foreign business grew by 13.7 percent.

“The sales growth for the year was driven by an 8 percent same store sales growth for the Philippines and worldwide and a 5.4 growth in store network,” the firm said.

JFC’s chief financial officer Ysmael Baysa, meanwhile, said raw material cost increases in 2014 brought pressure on the firm's profit margins.

"We made important price adjustments and improved our store and manufacturing expenses during the year. We are now very close to fully covering these cost increases and look forward to the full recovery and improvement in gross profit margins in 2015 through lower cost of energy and more stable raw material prices. We will also offer even better products to our consumers to help ensure our products continue to provide them great value,” he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jollibee in search of acquisition in US

MANILA, Philippines - Jollibee Foods Corp. said it is targeting to acquire a US fast food company with a capitalization of at least $1 billion.

JFC confirmed a BusinessMirror report quoting Jollibee chairman Tony Tan Caktiong as saying a brand with a $1-billion market capitalization would be right for the company.

"It should be a strong regional brand so that we can expand. We don't want a brand that's already big," Tan Caktiong was quoted by BusinessMirror as saying.

Since the acquisition may be too big for Jollibee, he said the company may consider tapping a partner.

Jollibee wants to boost the revenues from overseas stores. At present, the company has less than 1,000 stores overseas and over 2,200 stores in the Philippines.

"We’d like to target 50-50 revenue sharing between Philippine stores and overseas stores. But we cannot do that yet because the Philippine (business) keeps growing so the ratio was kept at 80-20," Tan-Caktiong said.

 

 source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jollibee going to Indonesia, Canada

MANILA, Philippines - Fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is expanding into new territories including Indonesia next year and Canada in 2015, catering to both the local population and Filipinos overseas.

Tapping new markets is in line with the company’s goal of becoming Asia’s largest homegrown quick service restaurant chain, an executive said.

“We just opened in Houston, Texas. Our next target is to open in Chicago and near future Toronto, Canada. It will be our first in Canada,” JFC chief operating officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said in an interview.

Closer to home, Indonesia is in the radar for an expansion program early next year, Tanmantiong said.

Late last month, Philippines’ largest fastfood chain posted an opening day record in its Houston branch. More than 5,000 Filipinos flocked to the first JFC branch in southern US, more than a thousand compared with the opening day record of Jollibee Hawaii.

Tanmantiong hopes the company, famous for its signature Chickenjoy and Yum Burger, will continue breaking records in its overseas store openings.

“We’re focusing where the Filipinos are. They are craving for Jollibee (because) it’s a taste of home,” Tanmantiong said, adding that Jollibee Chicago will open next year while Jollibee Toronto will start operations in 2015.

In Asia, the fastfood giant is targeting to create a presence in Indonesia early next year.

“Indonesia hopefully (we can open) next year. What we plan to do in Indonesia is to find a joint venture partner,” Tanmantiong said.

“For Indonesia, it’s a fried chicken country so we believe the chicken joy will fit very well in Indonesia,” Tanmantiong said. JFC is developing spicy sauce sambal to cater to the Indonesia taste.

JFC is looking at suppliers for food production in Indonesia but the company is also ready to invest in a commissary in the emerging market, Tanmantiong said.

The expansion program signals the continuation of JFC’s corporate strategy of going after Filipinos overseas while also looking at the locals in host countries.

Tanmantiong will become the fastfood chain’s CEO effective July 2014 while current CEO Tony Tan Caktiong will remain as the chairman of the board.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How the Tan Caktiongs built the Jollibee empire

MANILA, Philippines - "We had to do everything by ourselves in the beginning! Pati janitorial services--I even cleaned the toilet," quipped Grace Ang Tan Caktiong, co-founder of the biggest Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee and current head of the Jollibee Foundation.

Whoever said saving a few pesos will come a long way knew what he was talking about. For Grace, saving every peso they could was her and husband Tony's mindset during the early days of Jollibee -- then a lone store in Cubao.

"There's a Chinese saying that says it's easier for you to save than to earn. So if you have something and you can save it. Don't waste it because to earn money, it takes a lot of hard work," Grace told Ces Drilon on ANC's Pipol.

Grace and Tony Tan Caktiong put up an ice cream parlor two months after graduating from college. That ice cream parlor eventually offered sandwiches to patrons until the couple decided on adding the store's popular Yum burger and Chicken Joy to the menu.

"When there's no cashier, you do the cashier, if there's no cook, you do the burger, if there's no janitor, you clean the toilet. It's like your neighborhood mom-and-pop store," Grace candidly said, sharing thoughts on how they operated their first store.

"We also served the customers (as waiter and waitress), and then at night, we do the accounting by ourselves," Grace added.

The then newly-graduated engineering students spent P150,000 for their store which opened its doors to customers in 1975. The couple got the idea of putting up an ice cream parlor after visiting a Magnolia shop which had a notice saying a franchise for a store is available.

But the idea of expanding the store's menu came from the store's patrons, Grace said.

"From early on, we were already listening to our customers... At first, it was actually chicken sandwich, and hotdog, and cheese--those were the three sandwiches we started with," Grace recalled. "They were very simple but good."

Then the couple embarked on a "research" stage, looking for the right hamburger they can add to the growing menu.

"We went out almost everyday to all the hamburger stores in town. We bought [burgers] and we dissected them... we tried to see what each was made of," Grace shared.

"We kept on eating until one day, we said, 'this is good'. Before we came out with the burger, it was, I think, over a year. So we were eating burgers everyday for over a year," she said with a soft laugh.

Despite the perseverance the two put into the business back then, Grace said she never thought it would grow into the country's biggest fast-food chain, even beating American fast-food giant McDonald's
"We wanted to grow the business but to be at this scale, not exactly [what I had in mind]," Grace said.

"But Tony is a guy who always dreams big. He really wanted to grow the business to make more stores," she stressed.

Aside from the famous Jollibee store, Jollibee Foods Corp. also operates Chowking, Greenwich, Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, Burger King, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, San Pin Wang, and Chow Fun.

JFC, in which Tony sits as chairman and chief executive officer, also has presence in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

As of end-2012, JFC has 2,074 stores in the Philippines across brands, and 554 stores abroad. The firm opened 223 stores in 2012 alone.

The Tan Caktiongs' frugality and hard work has paid off handsomely. They were named the 9th richest in the Philippines with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

source: abs-cbnnews.com