FAST-FOOD giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Monday said it entered into a joint-venture agreement with Blackbird Holdings Pte. Ltd. to own and operate the first Jollibee store in Italy, as the company makes its first step on its expansion to the European market.
Jollibee said it would use its international unit Golden Plate Pte. Ltd., which, along with Blackbird, will incorporate a Singapore company that will serve as a vehicle to operate its first store in Europe.
Golden Plate will own 75 percent of the firm and the rest will be owned by Blackbird.
The joint-venture company shall incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary in Italy to own and operate the first store.
Blackbird is a Singapore company incorporated in 2014 and currently holds various investments both in Singapore and in the Philippines in the food and beverage, human resource, agriculture and biotechnology sectors.
The two firms have committed to invest up to €1 million, of which up to €750,000 will be contributed by Golden Plate, in proportion to its ownership in the business.
Jollibee’s unit will have full management control of the joint venture and the operations of the first store.
“JFC’s strategy is still to tap a territorial franchisee for Italy with the capability to develop and expand the brand in the market. The JV partnership will facilitate the entry and the opening of the first store will create the desired awareness for the Jollibee brand in the market,” it said.
Jollibee operates the largest food-service network in the Philippines. As of end February 28, it was operating 2,670 restaurant outlets in the country under its stable of brands led by its flagship Jollibee fast food and 620 stores abroad, mainly in China.
The Jollibee brand’s system-wide sales in the Philippines is double that of the next largest competitor. Its sales are larger than those of the two biggest foreign competitors combined.
The Philippines is one of the very few countries in the world where the largest fast-food chain is a local brand.
“JFC intends to sustain this leadership position in the years ahead through innovations and improvement in its products, services, store design and network expansion, and communications with customers, even as it accelerates its profitable growth abroad,” the company said earlier.