043007: Jollibee ready to gamble in Las Vegas restaurant scene

By Paul Henson

ABS-CBN

FAST-food giant Jollibee is about to make another significant step in the land of burgers and fries.  It will open a new restaurant in Las Vegas in May, the 12th outlet in its growing US operations. Tommy King, Jollibee’s head for US operations, told ABS-CBN that the Las Vegas branch is a partnership with a Filipino-owned grocery chain, Seafood City. Jollibee also intends to open four more outlets in California late this year, one in New Jersey in 2008, and Hawaii in 2009. King is optimistic on Jollibee’s prospects in the US— the homeland of its rivals McDonald’s and Burger King. For the first time in eight years, Jollibee US posted a 50-60 percent profit growth in 2006.  Each of Jollibee’s 11 stores bring in up to 800 diners daily.  It turned out, the recipe for success is nothing new: Jollibee’s tried and tested, original food items catering to the Filipino community. It was a huge departure from Jollibee’s original marketing strategy when it opened its first outlet in California in 1998. “At that time, Jollibee was looking at how fast it could cross over to the mainstream,” King said. At one time, Jollibee offered a confusing menu consisting of Angus beef burgers and dinuguan (pork blood stew) that alienated both American and Filipino diners. “It was not that successful so we had to regroup and do it the other way around and really focus on the Filipino population,” King said. The strategy worked.  From a negative bottom line, Jollibee posted double-digit growth numbers in the first quarter of 2007.  US media are also starting to take notice. In its April 9 issue, Time magazine cited Jollibee as one of the emerging foreign fast- food chains in California. The same article, however, criticized the “weird, plasticky dollop of French dressing” in the Yumburger, the oily fries and “halfway decent” fried chicken. A March 2007 issue of the Los Angeles Times gave positive reviews to Jollibee’s Aloha Burger. “We respect their taste,” said King of American diners. “But our primary reason for being in the US is to cater to the Filipino market and we have our own identity and we want to create our niche.” Jollibee is now taking a more conservative stance in expanding its market.  The company is tapping the Hispanic community, which is quite receptive to the Chickenjoy.  Down the line, Jollibee intends to introduce new side dishes like mashed potatoes, buttered corn and salsa to capture the wider American market.

 

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