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CHOWKING
Food Corp., the Oriental food restaurant of listed
Jollibee Foods Corp., could register a 12 percent growth
in sales this year and its market share may further
expand.
The
bigger market share, according to president Rufino de la
Rosa, would be achievable through improved food taste,
more affordable food choices, sustained marketing
efforts and innovative salesmanship in stores.
Chowking
will add 36 new stores to its Philippine network of 375
and 10 new stores to its international operations.
“We are
also launching more affordable food items this year,
starting off with… [the] new fish tofu [and] tausi
[dishes] this month, in time for the start of the
meatless Lenten season. New local stores are also
adopting the fifth-generation design that features
leather seats and cooler lighting for more delightful
customer dining experience,” de la Rosa said.
Chowking
ended 2007 with P10.1 billion in annual sales, up 13
percent from a year earlier. The restaurant rolled out
36 new stores locally and introduced new marketing and
sales campaigns.
The
company, the second-biggest revenue contributor to the
Jollibee group next to flagship brand Jollibee, posted
its highest monthly sales of P1 billion in December
2007.
“The
holiday season drew more dine-in customers, families of
overseas Filipino workers, and balikbayans. Sales
from Chowking’s international operations also
contributed an additional P1 billion in annual sales,”
de la Rosa said.
Chowking
has grown more than five-folds in the past seven years.
“This
means we have been growing at [a] compounded rate of
23-percent per annum. We are glad our best efforts to
delight our customers paid off despite the tough year
for business,” he said.
Among
the challenges Chowking dealt with last year were the
lower purchasing power of overseas Filipino workers and
their family members due to the 36-percent appreciation
of the peso versus the US dollar; and higher cost of raw
materials and utility as a result of escalating fuel
prices. |
