|
By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. (JFC) said
its unit has acquired an equity stake in Chow Fun Holdings LLC on
New Mexico in the United States
In a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange, the country’s largest fast-food chain said
Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. signed an agreement to acquire a
12-percent interest worth $950,000 in Chow Fun, the developer and
owner of Jinja Bar Bistro.
With this venture, JFC plans to
enhance its capability to develop Asian food restaurant concepts for
the mainstream American consumers. At present, JFC has two
restaurants in New Mexico, one in Sta. Fe and another in
Albuquerque.
JFC said it will continue to
enter into joint ventures and alliances with institutions and
individuals “in conjunction with building its internal
organization capability in order to achieve its long-term
objectives.”
JFC operates 51 restaurants in
the US, including 15 Jollibee, 23 Red Ribbon and 13 Chowking stores
particularly in the West Coast serving predominantly Filipino
consumers.
For this year, JFC plans to open
another 25 stores representing a 54-percent increase in its store
network in the US. In the next few years, the company plans to open
more stores in other US cities, Canada and Hawaii.
Amid the slowdown in US consumer
spending, JFC said that its businesses in the US remain profitable,
each earning a return on investment above its cost of capital.
The company aims to attract other
minorities who have taste preferences similar to Filipinos. In the
long term, JFC plans to serve mainstream US consumers.
The company operates the largest
food service network in the Philippines, with 1,479 stores,
including 632 Jollibee, 380 Chowking, 235 Greenwich, 201 Red Ribbon,
28 Delifrance and three Manong Pepe stores.
JFC’s foreign operations number
207 stores, including 115 Yonghe King in the People’s Republic of
China, 40 Jollibee, 28 Chowking, 23 Red Ribbon and one Chu Shui Tang
Worldwide.
|
