SHAKEY’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. (SPAVI) is joining the bubble tea craze by bringing Singapore’s R&B milk tea brand to the Philippines.
The operator of Shakey’s and Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken restaurants signed a franchise agreement with Singapore’s Koufu Group Ltd. to sell R&B milk tea, bubble tea and other specialty drinks in the country.
SPAVI is looking to open stand-alone R&B stores and offer R&B products through co-branding in select Shakey’s and Peri-Peri stores.
“We are pleased to bring the R&B milk tea experience to the Philippines… This co-branding initiative is likewise in line with our renewed focus on out-of-store consumption, enhancing sales thru these channels with minimal additional investment and maximizing the use of our existing assets,” SPAVI President and CEO Vicente L. Gregorio said in a statement.
SPAVI noted milk tea is a top-selling product for take-out and delivery, making it a good pairing with its pizza product, which it said is also popular for delivery.
“Though we remain in unusual times and continue to prioritize cash and liquidity as we navigate thru the crisis, we are also working on a number of strategic initiatives, including this one, rolling out a variety of new and exciting innovations for our guests,” Mr. Gregorio added.
R&B is currently present in Singapore, China, United States, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Koufu Group, which signed the franchise agreement with SPAVI, also operates food courts and coffee shops in Singapore.
“We adopt stringent evaluation criterions in selecting our strategic partners… We are pleased to have found a strong strategic partner in Shakey’s to expand our footprint in the region,” Koufu Executive Chairman and CEO Pang Lim was quoted in the statement as saying.
SPAVI has allotted P300 million for capital expenditures this year, down from P500 million a year ago, as it tightens its belt to preserve cash amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The company posted a P290-million net loss in the first half, reversing its P389-million net income in the same period last year, due to store closures at the height of the pandemic-related quarantine.
Shares in SPAVI at the stock exchange picked up nine centavos or 1.62% to close at P5.66 each on Tuesday. — Denise A. Valdez
