Jollibee

History

In 1975, Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia Ice Cream parlor in Cubao, Quezon City. In 1978, he and his siblings engaged the services of a management consultant, Manuel C. Lumba, who shifted the business focus from ice cream to hot dogs after his studies showed a much larger market waiting to be served. Lumba was Tan's last business and management mentor.

Jollibee experienced rapid growth. It was able to withstand the entry of McDonald's in the Philippines in 1981 by focusing on the specific tastes of the Filipino market, which differed from the American fast food company.

The chain opened successful milestone stores in the following years: its 100th branch in Davao in 1991; its 200th store in Malolos, Bulacan in 1996; its 300th store in Balagtas, Bulacan in 1998; its 400th store in Intramuros, Manila in 2001; its 500th store in Basilan in 2004; its 600th store in Aparri in 2007; its 700th store in Harrison Road, Baguio City in 2010; its 800th store in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon on October 18, 2013; and its 900th store in Palo, Leyte on September 30, 2015.

Expansion and acquisitions

The company acquired 80% of Greenwich Pizza in 1994. From a 50-branch operation, Greenwich gradually established a strong presence in the food service industry. In early 2006, Jollibee Foods Corp. bought out the remaining shares of its partners in Greenwich Pizza Corp., equivalent to a 20% stake, for P384 million in cash. In 1996, Jollibee became the sole franchisee of Délifrance for Philippines, staying in operation in the country until late 2010. In 2000, the company acquired Chowking, a Chinese fast food restaurant, thus making Jollibee a part of the Asian quick service restaurant segment.

In 2004, Jollibee acquired Chinese fast food chain Yonghe Dawang for $22.5 million. Jollibee entered into a joint-venture contract with US-based Chow Fun Holdings LLC, the developer and owner of Jinja Bar Bistro in New Mexico, in which Jollibee acquired a 12% stake for $950,000. In 2005, Jollibee acquired Red Ribbon, a bakeshop business in the Philippines. In less than 5 years, Jollibee managed to nurture the business and transform it into a popular and rapidly growing bakeshop chain. In 2006, Jollibee purchased 70% of Taipei restaurant Lao Dong in June and Chun Shui Tang tea house. In 2007, Jollibee acquired the Chinese fast-food chain Hongzhuangyuan for $50.5 million (roughly P2 billion).

On August 26, 2008, Jollibee formally signed a P2.5 billion ($55.5 million) deal with Beijing-based Hong Zhuang Yuan through its wholly owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. The sale is subject to the approval of China's Ministry of Commerce. On October 19, 2010, Jollibee acquired 70% share of Mang Inasal, a Filipino food chain specializing in barbecued chicken, for P3 billion ($68.8 million). The same month, Jollibee signed a deal to acquire 55 percent of China's Guangxi San Ping Wang Food and Beverage Management Co. Ltd., operators of the San Pin Wang beef noodle business for 30 million RMB. On October 2011, Jollibee acquired a 54% stake in BK Titans, Inc., the sole franchisee of Burger King in the Philippines.

In 2011, Jollibee opened 260 new stores, of which 167 were in the Philippines led by Mang Inasal (86) and Jollibee (40). This brought the company's total number of stores to 2,001 as of the end of December 2011. The same year, Jollibee closed Manong Pepe foodchain in favor of Mang Inasal, and sold Délifrance to CaféFrance. Overseas, Jollibee opened 93 stores, led by Yonghe King in China (70) and Jollibee Vietnam (11). In 2013, Jollibee opened its first store in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as well as in Houston, Texas. Both locations were chosen for their strong Filipino presence. A Chicago suburb, Skokie, Illinois, will have their opening sometime in July 2016. Jollibee is also slated to open a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida sometime in September 2016.

Its restaurants in mainland China are responsible for about 12% of the company's total sales, mostly through chains it acquired.

Canada's first Jollibee location was opened on Thursday, December 15, 2016, in Winnipeg. CBC News (December 15, 2016). "Jollibee's 1st Canadian location opens in Winnipeg as hundreds wait in line". CBC Manitoba. Retrieved January 10, 2017. The restaurant plans to expand to Toronto in Canada, Malaysia and Indonesia. It also plans to expand throughout the Southern United States such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Dallas, and Midwestern United States starting with Chicago. Currently, aside from its flagship brand Jollibee, the group's other brands and acquisitions are Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King (China) and Hong Zhuang Yuan (China), as well as a majority stake in the firm that controls the Burger King franchise in the Philippines.

In October 2015, Jollibee announced that it has acquired a 40-percent stake in Smashburger in a deal that values the American fast-casual burger chain at $335 million.

In January 2016, the company announced it was participating in a joint venture to bring 1,400 Dunkin' Donuts stores to China over the next 20 years

Products

Jollibee is an American-style fast food restaurant with Filipino-influenced dishes specializing in burgers, spaghetti, chicken and some local Filipino dishes. In the Philippines, Jollibee serves Coca-Cola products for its beverages; in overseas markets, the chain serves Pepsi products.

Jollibee's flagship product is its fried chicken, which is branded as Chickenjoy.

Branch locations

Jollibee started with five branches in 1978. The JFC has Jollibee branches outside the Philippines in locations in other countries in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, the Middle East, and North America.

As of December 2016, Jollibee operates at 1,100 Jollibee stores, 950 of which are in the Philippines, its country of origin, and 150 are situated in foreign markets.

The JFC has publicly expressed plans to open its first Jollibee store in Europe due to popular demand, but stated at that time that such plans were not then prioritized. However, it was later reported in March 2015 that Jollibee planned to expand to Europe through an unspecified country in 2017-2018. Plans to enter the Australia and Japan markets were also entertained by the company.

Jollibee had former branches in Taiwan, Mainland China. Jollibee's first branch in Taiwan in 1986 was the first branch outside the Philippines. Jollibee launched its first branch in Dubai in 1995 but it was later closed. Jollibee also previously had branches in Malaysia and Indonesia but were later closed down due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

It also had former presence in the Oceania, although one is set to open in Australia in 2017. It had branches in the US territories of the Northern Mariana Islands. and Guam, as well as in Papua New Guinea.

As of the end of September 2012, Jollibee Foods Corporation was operating 2,040 stores in the Philippines for all of its brands: 765 for Jollibee, 383 for Chowking, 201 for Greenwich, 209 for Red Ribbon, 457 for Mang Inasal and 25 for Burger King.

Mascots

Jollibee, a large bee mascot dressed in a blazer, shirt, and chef's hat introduced by the brand in 1980, is probably the most widely recognized character in the Philippines.

The mascot Jollibee was designed to epitomize Filipino optimism. Tony Tan, chairman and founder has compared the mascot's character to the Filipino working folk reasoning that the bee "hops around and produces sweet things for life, and is happy even though it is busy".

Source:

Jollitown

On April 13, 2008, a children's television program called Jollitown was launched. The timing was chosen to highlight Jollibee's 30th anniversary. Jollibee and his friends: Yum the scientist, Twirlie the star performer, Hetty the chearleader and Popo the gym coach are the stars of the show, which airs Sundays, 9:30 a.m. or 8:00 on GMA Network. On July 17, 2011, Jollitown moved to ABS-CBN for its 4th and 5th season every Sunday at 9 am (every Sunday). On July 20, 2013, the show moved back to GMA for The Jollitown Kids Show or Jollitown Season 6 until it ended on October 12, which spanned for almost 5 years.

Reception

Jollibee has won many accolades. It has consistently been mentioned as one of the Philippines' and Asia's most admired companies in surveys conducted by publications such as Asian Business Magazine and The Wall Street Journal Asia and has received other plaudits from Euromoney and Asia Money. In 2008, it was also the recipient of the FMCG and F & B Asia Pacific Supply Chain Excellence Award at the SCM Logistics Excellence Awards.

Jollibee Foundation

In December 2004, as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative, the Jollibee Group Foundation, also known as the Jollibee Foundation, was established by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) to make giving back an organized corporate commitment. The Foundation aims to invest in local people and help them succeed.

Busog, Lusog, Talino (BLT)

Busog, Lusog, Talino (BLT) is a school feeding program that addresses hunger among Grades 1 and 2 pupils and helps them to stay in school by keeping them fit and healthy. With nationwide operations, Jollibee store employees visit nearby schools and conduct orientation to teachers and parents on proper food preparation and food safety. They also work with the local government units, the Department of Education and private sector partners in monitoring the feeding activity and ensuring program sustainability. The presence of Jollibee stores all over the country and other partnerships enabled the Foundation to expand the program to 450 schools in school year 2011-2012, feeding more than 25,000 pupils since BLT started in 2007.