FAST FOOD giant Jollibee has opened its first drive-thru location in Singapore, further expanding its operations in the regional neighbor.
In a statement on Thursday, the fast-food chain said the outlet is its 20th store in Singapore and the first one to be assisted by artificial intelligence in its branches across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, excluding the Philippines.
The drive-thru store is located at Caltex Jurong Spring gas station and was launched on Sept. 19.
“This milestone coincides with our 10th anniversary in Singapore, during which time we have expanded from a single outlet in Lucky Plaza to 20 stores across the country, growing our consumer base from serving primarily Filipinos, to now serving the mainstream Singaporean market who compose a predominant majority of our customers today,” said Dennis M. Flores, president of Jollibee Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia (EMEAA).
“We are grateful for the Singaporean community’s continued support, and we look forward to expanding further in the country and the greater EMEAA region,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jollibee said the opening of the first drive-thru location in Singapore follows the recent store opening in Malaysia, where the brand unveiled its 10th store in the country at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
For the first half, the Jollibee brand opened 38 stores, of which 23 were opened outside the Philippines.
The Jollibee group, or Jollibee Foods Corp., posted a 13.9% drop in its attributable net income to P4.39 billion in the first semester from P5.1 billion a year ago. Its brands include Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, and Mang Inasal.
On Thursday, shares of Jollibee at the local bourse rose P1.20 or 0.52% to P230 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave