Berjaya to expand Papa John's pizza chain in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Group plans to expand its Papa John’s pizza chain in the Philippines to 100 over a 10-year period or by 2019, according to a top company official.

In a briefing following the signing of the distributorship agreement between Berjaya Group and Japan automaker Mazda Corp., Berjaya Food chief executive officer Francis Lee said they now have 14 Papa John’s outlets in the country with a manpower complement of 40 to 50.

“Our target is to open a total of 100 stores over 10 years, beginning two years ago,” Lee said.

Lee said the group will primarily be concentrating on Metro Manila and will only look at establishing a presence in the provinces when its Metro Manila outlets have hit 35.

Berjaya owns 30 percent of Berjaya pizza (Philippines), whose main business is the operation of the Papa John’s pizza franchise.

Papa John’s is the third largest pizza company in the world. Its first outlet was in Indiana, back in 1985. Today, it has grown to more than 3,300 restaurants worldwide in over 30 countries. In China alone, Papa John’s has built over 100 restaurants.

Papa John’s is also present in Korea, India and the Middle East including UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Aside from food, the Berjaya Group’s interests in the Philippines include gaming/lottery through Prime Gaming Management Corp. and hotel management through Berjaya Manila Hotel.

Berjaya Berhad is a highly diversified Malaysian conglomerate with interests in property development, gaming, hospitality, restaurants, education, financial services, and vehicle assembly and distribution.

Lee said the group is also considering venturing into the airline business but did not elaborate.