JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. has opened its first Jollibee store in the United States’ Maryland state at the Westfield Wheaton Mall, around 30 minutes away from Washington DC.
The fastfood brand aims to market itself to tourists and so-called “Gen Pop” customers who do not know about it, but are open to trying out new food.
“We are happy to welcome our fans who have patiently waited for Jollibee’s arrival in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, as well as introduce the brand to curious new customers,” Maribeth D. Dela Cruz, president of the Jollibee group for North America, Philippine brands, said in a statement on Thursday.
Jollibee has opened five new branches in the region since the start of the year.
The fastfood chain is now serving in 12 US states through 49 stores.
“Jollibee fans can look forward to more locations popping up in major cities throughout the year, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City,” the company said.
It is aiming to put up 300 stores in North America by 2024.
Jollibee generated a net income of P153 million in the first quarter of the year, a reversal of the P1.68-billion loss it generated in the same period last year. Its topline declined by 12% to P34.68 billion from P39.43 billion.
Sales from its international business accounted for 41.1% of its global system-wide sales for the period, as sales from the segment improved by 1.3%.
The company said North America was one of the regions wherein sales levels for Philippine brands were already equal or slightly higher compared with March 2019 sales.
Jollibee stocks at the local bourse went down by 2.63% or P4.60 on Wednesday to close at P170.40 apiece. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
