Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. said it opened its flagship store in West End in the United Kingdom which sold more than 4,000 pieces of fried chicken on the first day alone.
The company said some of the customers lined up for seven hours before its doors opened and that its opening day sales exceeded the first-day sales of its Leeds, Leicester City, and Liverpool branches.
Ambassador of the Philippines to the UK Antonio M. Lagdameo attended the opening, cutting the ribbon alongside business head of Jollibee Europe Adam Parkinson.
“It is heartwarming to see the long lines of customers at Jollibee’s London West End opening,” Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO of Jollibee Group said.
“We are excited to welcome our British customers along with our Filipino guests to our latest restaurant, where they can enjoy our unique and popular food offerings. We also look forward to continuously expanding our brand footprint in the UK’s 1.2 billion-pound fried chicken market as we open more stores in the country and the rest of Europe.”
Jollibee’s launch queues are notorious around the world as its lines consisting mostly of customers from the Filipino community would start early, even days before and through extreme weather.
The company said it would open 6 more Jollibee fast-food stores in the UK before the end of year.
“Opening in London’s West End, right at the heart of London, is a very proud moment for Jollibee in the UK. Leicester Square in London’s West End is the perfect location to cater to friends and family shopping, going to the cinema or theater, and on nights out in Soho and Covent Garden. We look forward to serving our bestselling Chickenjoy and other Jollibee favorites to more Londoners in the West End,” Dennis Flores, president of Jollibee Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia, said.
On top of its bestseller products, Jollibee also debuted its brand-new Spicy Chicken Burger to all its branches across the UK and Europe. Exclusive to the UK, Jollibee’s West End menu will also include a Tropical Chicken Burger.
The Jollibee West End opening is part of the brand’s push to open 50 stores in 5 years in Europe, and in line with its vision to become among the top 5 restaurant companies in the world.