Jollibee now has more than twice as many outlets overseas as domestically, with South Korea’s Compose Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Vietnam’s Highlands Coffee among its biggest foreign brands. International sales including franchises jumped 27 per cent last year, almost three times the pace of the Philippine business.
RELIANCE ON HOME MARKET
Yet aggressive expansion doesn’t tell the whole story. The group still relies overwhelmingly on its home market for profit. It generated 112.5 per cent of the group’s net income last year after deducting expenses, interest and taxes.
The international businesses, despite healthy growth in operating income, collectively lost money.
The outlook for the offshore unit remains patchy, even if there are bright spots. The drinks business has emerged as one of the strongest performers, led by the South Korean and Vietnam coffee outlets. The beloved chicken brand’s North American expansion is also going well.
But the picture is less rosy elsewhere. Smashburger, the US burger chain Jollibee took full control of in 2018, has been struggling and is still being restructured. China, battered by a general downturn in retail spending, has also been a weak spot.
