By Arra B. Francia
JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. (JFC) targets to book equal sales contribution from its international and local stores in the next five years while pushing for a massive expansion plan across the globe.
JFC Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said the one of homegrown fastfood chain’s long-term plans is to hit “50-50” sales by 2022.
“We will hit the 50-50 sales between foreign and Philippines… Trying to get it if we can see in five years. That’s part of the long-term plan,” Mr. Tan Caktiong said at the sidelines of the opening of the firm’s 1000th store in the Philippines, located inside Bonifacio Global City, on Monday.
The official said international sales currently account for 20% of JFC’s business, or 30% including joint ventures in other countries.
The listed firm is currently broadening its store network to 4,000 by the end of 2017, with 250 stores in the Philippines and 100 more abroad set for opening.
In an earlier interview, Mr. Tan Caktiong said they have allotted P14.7 billion for the store expansion, more than double the P6 billion the company’s capital expenditure in 2016.
Aligned with its goal of hitting 4,000 stores by yearend, JFC yesterday opened its 1000th store inside the country, which the company said is a prime location that reflects the growth of the fastfood chain.
The newest addition to the firm’s store network can seat 350 people and features a modern tropical concept that looks to attract customers across all age groups.
“Reaching 1,000 stores is a special milestone especially in an industry as competitive as ours. Jollibee’s growth and success over the years is largely due to the fruitful partnerships we’ve made and nurtured with our franchisees, and the support of local government units (LGUs)… as well as various business partners,” Jollibee Philippines President JJ S. Alano III said in a speech during the store’s opening.
P10 MILLION FOR AGRI PROGRAM
Meanwhile, the company, through the Jollibee Group Foundation, also announced its extension of the current Farmers Entrepreneurship Program by investing P10 million for engaging around 1,000 Filipino youth into agriculture.
“We’re going to improve it further so we’re thinking maybe involving the youth to help them get into the education side so I think that will be the sponsorship for agricultural scholarship in colleges,” Mr. Tan Caktiong said.
Jollibee Foundation Executive Director Ma. Gisela H. Tiongson said the group will tap existing LGU and nongovernment organization partners mostly in the rural areas for the 1,000 Filipino youth who will join the program.
“We have identified Don Bosco, we have two campuses that are already providing agriculture enterprises…we will also work with STI in their Tanauan campus. And we’re also talking to eight other universities, pero pala pa kaming MoA (memorandum of agreement) so hindi muna naming sasabihin (but we don’t have a MoA yet so we can’t disclose these),” Ms. Tiongson said.
The group is exploring two ways to do the partnership — by entering communities or by enriching agriculture programs at the senior high school level. This means that they would teach students about the marketing, financing, as well as logistics side of farming.
“If you want to sustain the sector, you have to engage the human capital in it,” Ms. Tiongson said, citing government data that places the average age of Filipino farmers at 57.
Jollibee Foods Corp. is targeting equal sales from its local and international stores by 2022. — HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOLLIBEEPHILIPPINES
