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THE
country’s largest fastfood operator Jollibee Foods Corp.
(JFC) is investing $950,000 (roughly P43 million) in
US-based Chow Fun Holdings Llc.
The
investment—to be made through wholly-owned unit Jollibee
Worldwide Pte., Ltd.—will give the listed company a
12-percent ownership in Chow Fun.
Chow Fun
is the operator and owner of Jinja Bar and Bistro, which
serves Asian cuisine adapted to Western preferences for
mainstream American consumers. It operates two
restaurants in Sta. Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico.
“JFC’s
objective in this venture is to enhance its capability
in developing Asian food restaurant concepts for the
mainstream consumers in the US as part of its long-term
strategy,” said chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa.
A senior
research analyst at a local brokerage firm told the
BusinessMirror said JFC’s investments abroad are always
well-planned.
“What
JFC buys is established brands that they don’t need to
build up. They know what the market preferences are,”
she said.
JFC said
it will continue to ink joint ventures and alliances
with institutions and individuals in conjunction with
building its internal organization capability to achieve
long-term objectives.
The
company, through its subsidiaries, has 51 restaurants in
the US as of end-June: Jollibee, 15; Red Ribbon, 23; and
Chowking, 13—all located in the West Coast and
predominantly serving Filipino consumers living in the
US.
This
year, the company will open 25 new stores representing a
54-percent increase in its store network in the US as of
end-2007. In the next few years, the company plans to
open more stores in other US cities, Canada and in
Hawaii.
“JFC’s
businesses in the US are profitable, each earning a
return on investments above JFC’s cost of capital. Sales
of the three restaurant brands remain strong in 2008, so
far unaffected by a slowdown in US consumer spending,”
Baysa said. |
