Jollibee Foods Corporation has opened two more branches of its flagship Jollibee brand overseas, this time in Liverpool, UK and in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Homegrown restaurant chain Jollibee opened its first stores in Liverpool and in the Greater Dallas Area in West Plano, Texas.
Long lines of customers were seen in the Liverpool opening, with the first customer lining up as early as 2 am on opening day.
In West Plano, Texas, the line of cars for the Jollibee drive-thru snaked around the parking lot continuing onto the highway, and hundreds of calls flooded the store for advance pickup orders.
The Liverpool opening achieved double its initial sales forecast, while the West Plano location also exceeded its target and served close to 2000 customers on its opening day. Long lines continue to be seen in both stores to this day.
“Jollibee continues to grow in both North America and Europe,” said Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong adding that, “In North America, the Jollibee brand is seeing double-digit growth, with our Chowking and Red Ribbon brands also performing well.”
He noted that, “Smashburger’s company-owned stores have also seen double-digit growth for the past four months. The digital pivot happening has driven off-premise channels like delivery, drive-thru, and take-out to a higher level, enabling our brands to outperform the QSR industry in the US.”
“In Europe, our expansion plans are ongoing. Our next Jollibee store will open in Leicester before the end of 2020, and we remain on track to have 50 restaurants in the next 3 to 5 years,” disclosed Tanmantiong.
He said “Our customer base around the world continues to grow as we tap local consumers within each market - expanding it from Filipinos living abroad to a wider, more mainstream market. The Liverpool store is showing how Jollibee is appealing to local communities and not just to Filipinos, and we are grateful for their warm welcome and the love they are showing for our food.”
Jollibee has continued to successfully and safely open stores across the world amidst the pandemic. In Europe, on top of the existing stores in Milan, Italy; Earl’s Court, London; and now in Liverpool, United Kingdom, the brand also intends to open before the end of the year in Leicester, which is known for its diversity and bright festivals.
In North America, Jollibee opened new stores in Canada and the US in Florida, greater Chicago, New Jersey, Las Vegas, and now West Plano, Texas. It is also set to open more stores in California and Canada by year-end.
Jollibee’s store in Dallas marks the brand’s 45th store in the US, while the Liverpool location marks the third in Europe.
The brand currently has over 1400 stores across the globe, with more stores scheduled this year as part of the Jollibee Group’s strategy to selectively open new stores in well- situated locations.