Jollibee enters the Beatles’ hometown

Local fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. has entered the fast food business in Liverpool, England and Texas, USA, as part of efforts to attract global consumers despite the challenging environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID19).

Following the successful opening of its first UK store in Earl’s Court, London, Jollibee recently opened its first store in Liverpool, the hometown of the iconic band The Beatles.

“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 three to five years, ”said Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong in a press release on Wednesday.

“Our customer base around the world continues to grow as we reach out to local consumers within each market, expanding from Filipinos living abroad to a larger, more conventional market. The Liverpool store shows how Jollibee appeals to local communities and not just Filipinos, and we are grateful for their warm welcome and the love they are showing for our food, ”added Tanmantiong.

Jollibee Liverpool’s first customer during its opening on September 3 was a local British blogger who stood in line at 2am on opening day, and many other customers followed soon after.

“What was really surprising about Liverpool’s opening week was that 40 percent of customers were new to the Jollibee brand and interested in trying the food for the first time. This increased to 50 percent the following week, which speaks to the positive reaction of Liverpool residents towards Jollibee, ”said Dennis Flores, President of JFC Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia (EMEAA).

“Our opening in Liverpool has shown that Jollibee has great potential to attract local customers in the European market, and not just Filipinos. Our efforts to rethink the brand in Europe by adapting the store design and communication assets to better align with the local target audience are showing results as seen in the great reception by locals in Liverpool. We will communicate with them even more by opening even more stores in major locations like Leicester. Only the British spend 1,200 million euros a year on quick service chicken, we hope we can take more advantage of this huge market, “added Flores.

Jollibee’s Liverpool location featured unique menus for local UK consumers such as Asian salad, tropical burger, mango and coconut ice cream and bowl of tender rice with Asian chicken.

Meanwhile, the first store in the greater Dallas and North Texas area, Jollibee’s West Plano store, opened Aug. 20 for a long line of cars snaking down the store’s driveway to the nearby highway. The first customer queued to order at 6 a.m., even when business hours began at 8 a.m. Customers from as far away as Oklahoma, which is a three-hour drive from the location, kept coming.

“The strength of our off-site channels, such as drive-through, delivery and pick-up, has enabled us to meet the continuous high demand for our products. Our Jollibee location in Scarborough, Canada, continues to be one of the best performing stores on the market on DoorDash, a leading North American on-demand food delivery platform. Despite the effects of the pandemic, system-wide sales growth for the Jollibee brand remains positive, ”said Rowel Vijandre, JFC North America president.

The Jollibee 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 more than 1,400 stores around the world.

In Europe, in addition to the existing stores in Milan, London and Liverpool, Jollibee intends to open before the end of the year in Leicester, which is known for its diversity and glittering festivals. In North America, more stores are scheduled to open in California and Canada by the end of the year.

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