The Ever Growing Jollibee

Jollibee Foods Corporation is a Philippine based fast-food restaurant that is considered as one of the biggest fast-food restaurants around the world, competing with other big fast-food restaurant brands such as McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King. According to its Jollibee website, it was in December of 2007 that Jollibee has yet again reached a new milestone by becoming one of the worlds biggest fast-food chains in the world with 1,655 stores worldwide and total sales of more than US$1 billion.

The success of Jollibee was further propelled when Jollibee begun its expansions on different chains of fast-food restaurants. Among these is an oriental restaurant called Chowking, a pizza/pasta restaurant known as Greenwich Pizza, a bakeshop named Red Ribbon Bakeshop, a french bakeshop called Délifrance, and an all-Filipino restaurant called Manong Pepe's.

The company acquired 80% of Greenwich Pizza Corp. in 1994, enabling it to penetrate the pizza-pasta market. From being a 50-branch operation, Greenwich has established a strong presence in the food service industry. In early 2006, Jollibee Foods Corp. bought out the remaining shares of its partners in Greenwich Pizza Corp., equivalent to a 20% stake, for P384 million in cash.

In 2000, the company acquired Chowking, allowing Jollibee to be part of the oriental quick service restaurant market. In 2005, they acquired Red Ribbon Bakeshop, another popular restaurant chain in the Philippines.

In 2005, Red Ribbon, a popular fast-food chain and bakery in the Philippines and the United States, offering a wide range of cakes and pastries, was acquired by Jollibee Foods Corporation, a conglomerate of popular fast-food chains in the Philippines.

In 2006, the company acquired the franchise of Délifrance. This further expanded its penetration in the food service industry, particularly in the French cafe-bakery, a growing segment of the Philippine food market. In September of 2006, the company acquired the remaining 50% stake of Delifrance Asia Ltd. in Baker Fresh Foods Phils., Inc. (BFFPI).

Because of its expansions and acquisitions, Jollibee has now been reported to have 1,466 stores in the Philippines namely, Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich Pizza, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, Délifrance and Manong Pepe's. And according to its own Jollibee website, it has 23 stores overseas. As of end-September, 2008, JFC has 1,490 local and 228 foreign stores in its portfolio.

For more information about Jollibee and its other acquisitions outside of the country, then visit a Jollibee website for more details.