Jollibee plans China expansion with focus on smaller stores

Jollibee Foods Corp. targets to open at least 100 stores in China next year, said its CEO, who sees lockdowns as a “temporary setback” to the Philippine fast-food chain’s target of getting half of sales from abroad.

With food delivery expected to drive growth, the Philippine company that’s known for dishes like fried chicken and sweet spaghetti targets to open smaller stores in China, Hong Kong and Macau where it now has more than 500 outlets, Ernesto Tanmantiong said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s David Ingles.

“China remains to be one of our pillar markets,” Tanmantiong said. The company will focus on its Yonghe King, Tim Ho Wan and Hong Zhuang Yuan brands, he said.

Jollibee expects half of its sales to come from overseas stores by 2027, and aims to be among the top five restaurant companies in the world, Tanmantiong said. The company is on track to surpass in 2022 its full-year profit before the pandemic, he said, citing its first nine months results.

A double-digit growth in revenue will likely be sustained in 2023 following a 40% growth in the first nine months of this year, Tanmantiong said, as pandemic restrictions continue to ease. The company is “well-positioned” to withstand elevated inflation, with higher-income customers shifting from fine dining to fast food, he said. — Bloomberg