Busy as a Jollibee: the fast food giant in Asia is expanding abroad

LONDON (Reuters) – Jollibee Foods (JFC.PS), a major Asian fast food operator, hopes to generate half of its sales outside its domestic market, the Philippines, by five to seven years, up from 30% today, said its director General at Reuters.

She also hopes to double her business figure in five years, developing her own chains and buying others, at a time when transactions in the restaurant business are heating up under the influence of increasing competition and cost consolidation.

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola (KO.N) agreed to buy Costa Coffee and JAB Holdings bought Ready To Eat, which Jollibee also envisioned.

More recently Restaurant Brands New Zealand (RBD.NZ) said it was in acquisition talks, the UK's TGI Friday was blocked and sources said that Bojangles (BOJA.O) was exploring a possible sale.

"There are a lot of discussions going on, but only a few are concluding with final negotiations," CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said Thursday in an interview, in anticipation of the opening of the first British fried chicken restaurant Jollibee in London.

Tanmantiong said it was open to strategic acquisitions, adding that size mattered little, as the targets were fast food restaurants or casual restaurants, offered a superior product and could still be expanded.

The company, whose market value exceeds $ 5 billion, already has 4,300 stores under 14 brands in 20 countries. It operates Burger King stores in the Philippines, Dunkin Donuts (DNKN.O) in China and Highlands Coffee in Vietnam and is the majority owner of Smashburger in the United States.

Growth in China and the United States is essential, said Tanmantiong. "We intend to replicate what we have done in the Philippines by having several brands in China and the United States," he said.

Last month, the company partnered with US chef Rick Bayless to create a Mexican channel.

China already accounts for 10% of the group's sales, through Dunkin and its two local brands. There is currently no Jollibee restaurant in China, where its competitor KFC (YUMC.N) is very strong, but Tanmantiong sees its locations in Hong Kong and Macao as a gateway to the continent.

BIOLOGICAL GROWTH

Over the next five years, the Jollibee chain, which began as a glacier in Manila, will expand in Europe, the United States and Asia.

A Manhattan Jollibee, the second in New York City, will open later this month, followed by another in Malaysia by the end of the year and one in Indonesia by 2020.

In total, Jollibee expects to have 50 stores in Europe over the next five years, half of which in Britain.

"He has a large Filipino population and he has a big fried chicken market," Tanmantiong said.

Jollibee has 41 stores in North America, mainly in the United States. In the next five years, it is expected to increase to 150 in the United States and 100 in Canada.

The company is planning a stock market listing of its Vietnamese coffee business next summer, but Tanmantiong said none of its business is currently ripe for listing.