IN a display of solidarity and Filipino pride, Philippine Cabinet secretaries made a visit to the first-ever Jollibee store in the United Kingdom, a month before its scheduled grand opening in October. The visit coincided with the Philippine Economic Briefing in the UK, where government officials presented before the UK-Asean Business Council the latest updates on various government programs.
Present during the store visit were Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat, Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon, Rep. Pia S. Cayetano, Rep. Wes Gatchalian, and Philippine Ambassador to the UK Antonio Manuel Lagdameo.
The officials were welcomed by Jollibee Foods Corp. CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong; and Dennis Flores, president and head of Jollibee International Business for Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia.
“We are truly delighted and excited to be opening and introducing Jollibee to this part of the world. I, together with our Jollibee International and store teams, sincerely appreciate your presence in today’s event. We are sincerely humbled by your visit as we partner for economic progress and help contribute to bringing honor to our country,” Tanmantiong said.
“As we have done in other markets, such as Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, and Hong Kong, we envision to successfully serve the delicious food and warm service of Jollibee not only to the Filipino community here, but also to the local British people of the United Kingdom.”
He added, “From our family, to our people, to those who invested in us, to our suppliers and to our customers, the journey has become not just our own, but a journey of the Filipino people. And we look forward to traveling to the next destinations together. Here’s to bringing our well-loved Jollibee brand to the rest of the world, and to spreading the joy of eating to everyone!”
The Jollibee UK store, which is slated to open on October 20, is among the latest wave of branches the fast-food brand is opening abroad, along with more stores in cities such as Macau and New York, which are also to be inaugurated this year.
Daniel Robert Pruce, UK Ambassador to the Philippines, also visited the store as a sign of support from the British community.
Jollibee Foods Corp. is the parent company of Jollibee, and has 12 brands with over 4,000 stores across 20 countries. It continues to expand its network beyond the Philippines as it targets to even the split between its domestic and foreign sales.
In 2013, Jollibee Foods Corp. became the number-one restaurant company in Asia in terms of market capitalization. Now the world’s largest Asian restaurant company, the fastfood giant is aspiring to be among the Top Five Largest Restaurant Companies in the world.