Ronald Allan V. Miranda Jr.

10/06/2018
MBA
Marketing Management
The CASE of JFC
Since its inception as a corporation in the late 70s, Jollibee has seen strong financial growth.
As seen in the financial data provided, Jollibee’s sales and revenue has been on the rise in the
recent years. As shown in their revenues, an amount of $12.9 billion pesos in 1998 was gradually
increased to $26.2 billion pesos in 2004, and indicating strong growth and ability to compete in
the already dense fast food market locally and internationally. The organization going public on
the Philippine Stock Exchange in 1993 acts as a foundation for the rapid expansion of its stores
locally and internationally
The decentralization of its operations in 2000 enables the organization to manage their
business on a manageable scale. Four autonomous regional business units dealing with human
resources, administration, finance and network development enabled the company to focus their
operations on a corporate level and allowing the RBUs to achieve greater efficiency.
As of June 2005, Jollibee has a total of 1200 stores locally and internationally. A
diversification of food products enabled the organization to reach out to a variety of customers and
making them as a market leader in the Philippines. Due to the geographical structure of the country,
they are the only fast food chain that operated nationwide, and in some locations face no other
competitions.
The acquisition of several new brands such as Greenwich, Chowking and Delifrance allow
the diversification of its products into different market niches. It proved to be a hedge against
downturns and competition and as seen in the case study, most of the acquisitions are the leader in
their respective market segment.
The main draw for customers into Jollibee’s restaurants is the appeal for local styled food
catered to Filipinos’ preferences. This is evident as they are constantly adding its product range on
top of their already popular favorites menu, in order to allow its local customers to experience the
traditional Filipino way of having local flavored taste in a comfortable setting.
Jollibee projects itself as being closer to Filipino families as compared to its competitors.
There is already widespread awareness locally that Jollibee is a local Filipino establishment, which
in turn appealed to the mass population whom felt more comfortable in a familiar setting. Tailoring
its menu towards the Filipino taste, it positioned itself as the favorite destination for family outings
as compared to its similar competitors.
Portraying itself as a fast-food outlet of high-quality at an affordable price specifically
tailored for the Filipinos, the chain has appealed to patriotic locals. With its introduction of in-
store play activities for children and a cast of brand mascots, it reaches and appeals to the children
and is evidently more popular than its nearest competitors. Recognizing that a normal Filipino
family’s weekends are normally reserved for children, the previously mentioned activities add
value to Jollibee's position as the prime destinations for family outings.
The Filipino speaking crew appeals to the locals more than its competitors where their crew
spoke in English. It is also in Jollibee’s commitment that this service component of their business
to their customers must be fast and at the same time being courteous.
Ronald Allan V. Miranda Jr. 10/06/2018
MBA
Marketing Management
Being a major player in the Fast-food industry in Philippines, they constantly enjoyed
economies of scale in terms of retail site selection, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, and
marketing levels unavailable to most industry players.
To attract the right talent and retaining of valuable staffs, the compensation and benefits
package at Jollibee is the highest in the Philippine fast-food industry. Employees are to undergo
comprehensive training programs based on underlying standards. Managers also received ongoing
training in the latest operations systems and people-management skills. Opportunities are available
for crew members to advance into a management role in the organization.
Decentralizing its organization into 4 autonomous business units, that corresponded to the
country’s major geographical markets. This enables the Head Office to focus its operations on the
key marketing, finance, restaurant systems and engineering functions and act as a support and
advice to the RBUs.
The uncertainties of competition from foreign players as well as downturns in specific
market niches are omnipresent in our current economic nature. Other uncertainties also come in
the form of financial crisis in the region as well as in the country it is operating in.
In the local Philippines context, the million consumers walking into Jollibee’s stores daily
represent strong demand for its products. The uniqueness of the geographical landscape of
Philippines has also made it a challenge for fast-food companies. Globally, there are many
Filipinos workers situated in the overseas market, especially in the United States where there are
estimated to be around 2 million Filipino immigrants. Besides the US, many Filipinos are also
situated in parts of Asia such as Hong Kong, Brunei and Indonesia. Not limiting to Filipinos, their
stores have also attracted other Asians to eat at their restaurants.
The ever-changing global landscape is one of the critical factors Jollibee has to consider. As
illustrated in the case study, Philippines have seen major global players entering the fast-food
market having a take on this pie. Although Jollibee have always been the dominant in this segment,
competing in foreign markets seems to be in a different story. Not only they have to penetrate the
foreign market with their proven and successful local recipe, they would also have to compete
against already established players such as McDonald, Wendy’s and KFC.