Jollibee Foods Corporation starts the year strong, Reports +20.2% Systemwide Sales Growth in North America in Q1 2023
- Written by: Telegraph Magazine
JFC operates several quick service restaurants in the region, led by its flagship brand Jollibee, known for its fried chicken called Chickenjoy. It also runs the burger chain Smashburger and coffee and tea chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL), which both posted strong systemwide and same store sales growth in the region.
The JFC Group eyes North America as a key market to achieve its vision of being among the top 5 restaurant companies in the world. It plans to open 550 to 600 stores globally in 2023, through organic growth and franchising, as part of its accelerated expansion plans to meet its vision.
Jollibee North America: Continued Strong Growth and American Market Crossover
Jollibee US and Canada continued to post strong double-digit systemwide sales in Q1 2023. It ended Q1 2023 with 89 stores, opening three stores for the quarter including its first-ever double drive-thru in North America located in Orlando, Florida. Last year, it opened 11 stores, including in the iconic New York Times Square and Vancouver—its first in British Columbia, Canada.
"Our successful growth in North America is thanks in no small part to the support of our thousands of customers across the region, and to our teams who joyfully serve them every day," shared Maribeth Dela Cruz, President of Jollibee Group North America—Philippine Brands. "We are delighted to see more and more customers enjoying our signature Chickenjoy fried chicken, Chicken Sandwich, and Peach Mango Pie, both from our devoted Filipino-American fans and new Mainstream American followers. Their support shows that Jollibee has what it takes to successfully compete in the world's largest QSR market, and is an important pillar in our company's global expansion strategy."
Jollibee's signature Chickenjoy was named America's Best Chain Fried Chicken in 2022 Eater.com, besting 15 other fried chicken products from other global quick service restaurant chains. The brand was likewise named among America's Hottest Brands by AdAge, a global marketing and media publication based in the US. The brand continues to see more and more local Americans coming to its stores, with some locations seeing majority Americans as patrons.
Commenting on the JFC Group's Global performance for Q1 2023, JFC President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong stated:
"Our first quarter financial results reflected continued strong momentum, delivering another quarter of strong topline and operating income growth," shared Tanmantiong. SWS growth was broad-based with all brands posting strong double-digit growth compared to the first quarter of 2022. We delivered strong operating profit growth despite continued macro challenges. We remain focused on navigating through these uncertainties and are confident in our ability to deliver another year of strong growth."
Jollibee Group Outlook for 2023
Based on its target for the year, the JFC Group projects full-year global systemwide sales to be up by 15.0% to 20.0%, with same store sales growth of 7% to 10.0% and store network increase of not less than 5.0%. Operating income growth will range from 20.0% to 25.0%.
The JFC Group expects capital expenditures to be in the range of Php17.0 to 19.0 billion.
Awards and Recognitions
For the third straight year, Forbes named the JFC Group among the World's Best Employers in 2022. The JFC Group is the highest-ranking restaurant company and the highest-ranking Philippine-based company.
The JFC Group was also recognized by the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Golden Arrow Awards, which measures a company's performance in such areas as facilitating the rights and equitable treatment of shareholders, ensuring transparency through timely disclosure of material information, and monitoring how the board guides the company strategically and its accountability to its stakeholders.
For more information on the Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com.
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About Jollibee Group
Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC, also known as Jollibee Group) is one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the world. Its mission is to serve great-tasting food and bring the joy of eating to everyone through its 16 brands with over 6,500 stores across 34 countries including the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, and Australia.
The Jollibee Group has eight wholly owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); four franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, and Yoshinoya in the Philippines, and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee; and 51% ownership of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand.
The Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 90% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that owns the Tim Ho Wan brand. The Jollibee Group has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. It also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.
The Jollibee Group has launched its global sustainability agenda dubbed Joy for Tomorrow, which aims to strengthen the company's commitment to sustainable business practices. The agenda centers on the key pillars of Food, People, and Planet, and consists of 10 focus areas namely: food safety, food quality, nutrition & transparency, employee welfare, farmers livelihood, community support, good governance, packaging & recycling, waste reduction, and energy & water efficiency. Each focus area sets goals and initiatives that contribute and align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
The Jollibee Group was named the Philippines' most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years. It was also honored as one of Asia's Fab 50 Companies and among the World's Best Employers and World's Top Female-Friendly Companies by Forbes. The company is also a two-time recipient of Gallup's Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the only Philippine-based company to receive the distinction.
To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
The preceding disclosure contain forward-looking statements that are based on certain assumptions of Management and are subject to risks and opportunities or unforeseen events.
Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated in the relevant forward-looking statement and the JFC Group gives no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct or that such intentions will not change. This Press Release discloses important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the JFC Group's expectations. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking statements attributable to the JFC Group or persons acting on behalf of the JFC Group are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above cautionary statements.
