PinoyBusiness.ORG – Home

Local fast food leader Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) emerged as the most-admired company in the Philippines in the most recent Asian Wall Street Journal’s annual Asia 200 survey.

The company also ranked number one in terms of corporate reputation and innovation.

The corporation’s tenacity in the face of the global economic downturn has earned for it the votes of the publication’s subscribers and top businessmen. This year, despite Filipinos spending less, JFC successfully increased its fourth quarter sales 18 percent compared to the previous year, thanks to consumer-oriented expansion and marketing strategies.

With its consistently high-quality food at value prices, the various brands under JFC became the top choice of more customers trading down from expensive restaurants. These are customers who have foregone their fine-dining fixes to enjoy more value-for-money fare at any of JFC’s quick-service restaurants. Apart from its popular burger and fries joints, the business also offers pizza, pasta and even Chinese food through its other brands Greenwich and Chowking.

In the article by James Hookway in the Asian Wall Street Journal, a consumer was quoted saying “I used to go to Starbucks for coffee and maybe a pastry for breakfast, but now most days, I pop into Jollibee where I can eat breakfast for half the price or less.”

Accessibility through its large network was another major factor that helped JFC claim the top spot. To date, the corporation already has 1,825 stores, including 307 overseas.

The flagship restaurant Jollibee also continues to expand internationally, having just opened a store in Queens, New York and with more in the works for Asia and the Middle East. Currently, Jollibee has 660 local and 50 international branches.

The same article quotes Luz Lorenzo, an economist in Manila: “Jollibee is a barometer for the Philippine economy.”

Indeed, while many other local companies espouse a more conservative approach to tide them over the economic slowdown, JFC’s robust showing proves that a stronger tack may be a better way to go, not just for the business community but for the country as well. Experts agree that Jollibee’s continuous growth and leadership signal good things for the Philippine economy, the bulk of which is made up of consumer spending that JFC helps to keep going.