JOLLIBEE FOODS Corp. said on Monday that it is planning to expand its market reach in Vietnam due to the country’s economic development and growing population.
“We intend to maximize Vietnam’s huge growth opportunity of the rapidly growing QSR (quick service restaurants) industry in Vietnam, focusing our investment on key cities and developing areas,” said Jollibee Foods President and Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong in a statement.
The company said that as of the first quarter it had opened about 158 Jollibee stores in Vietnam as it aims to become “among the country’s top QSRs.”
It added that Jollibee Vietnam opened seven new stores in 2022 and four more during the first quarter of 2023.
“To support the company’s growth plans, Jollibee established its own commissary in Vietnam, which has the capacity to support 400 stores,” the company said.
Jollibee Foods added that to date, it is the third biggest QSR brand in the country and caters to a 100% local customer base.
“Our continued success in Vietnam and in many other parts of the world shows that Jollibee can indeed win over the hearts of the international customer base, and we will continue expanding our presence both in Vietnam and around the globe,” Mr. Tanmantiong added.
During the first quarter, the company recorded a nearly 11% decrease in attributable net income to P2.06 billion from P2.31 billion in the previous year despite strong revenue growth.
Its consolidated revenues for the quarter grew by 28.5% to P55.09 billion from the P42.86 billion recorded in the same quarter last year.
System-wide sales — which measure all sales to consumers, both from company-owned and franchised stores — rose by 31.1% to P78.64 billion from P59.98 billion.
Overseas system-wide sales jumped by 23.3%, while same-store sales rose by 8.8%. For the Philippines, system-wide sales increased by 36.7% while same-store sales went up by 31.6%.
As of end-March, the company had been operating 6,542 stores worldwide with 3,281 in the Philippines and 3,261 in its international business.
At the stock exchange, Jollibee Foods’shares rose by 0.5% or P1.20 to P240 apiece. — Adrian H. Halili