Jollibee consolidates US operations

Fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is consolidating its operations in the US by absorbing wholly-owned subsidiaries Superior FSC Foods Corp. and FSC Foods Corp.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), JFC said its board of directors has approved the merger of offshore units FSC Foods and its holding firm Superior FSC Foods Corp. with the parent firm. FSC Foods owns the eight Jollibee branches in the US.

The merger will be submitted for approval of stockholders in a special meeting on Oct. 17.

With the merger, all the assets and liabilities of FSC Foods and Superior will be transferred to JFC.

JFC is accelerating its restaurant expansion program this year as it aims to put up 80 to 100 new stores both here and abroad to further enhance its market leadership.

The expansion will enable the fastfood firm to serve new or underserved trade areas as well as to widen lead over competition.

These new stores will comprise JFC’s flagship businesses: Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Delifrance, and newly-acquired Tomi’s Teriyaki.

The Jollibee brand is one of the most well-known and strongest consumer brands in the country, serving burgers and crispy chicken. Chowking serves Oriental food while Greenwich is one the leading players in the pizza-pasta market.

Delifrance, on the other hand, is a significant player in the French bakery-café segment. Tomi’s Teriyaki, meanwhile, is JFC’s entry in the Japanese-themed fast food service industry.

Last year, the company had put up only 70 new stores or a total branch network of 902. Of the 902, Jollibee accounted for 457 (inclusive of stores abroad), Greenwich (191 stores), Chowking (224 inclusive of stores overseas), Delifrance (2) and Tomi’s (2).

JFC’s existing network is the largest of any company in the Philippines.

JFC’s international stores stood at 30 as the company did not open any new stores last year. In the first quarter this year, a Jollibee store in California was closed, bringing its total US stores to seven. Jollibee has five Chowking and two Tomi’s Teriyaki branches in the US.

The JFC store network is slowly but surely attracting more Filipino communities and mainstream American consumers as well.