Fast Food restaurant Jollibee to close 255 company-owned stores

Filipino fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation have suffered a net loss of US$240 million.

Since March, we have seen many restaurant brands both in India and globally facing the heat of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Philippine online news website Rappler, the fast food giant also witnessed its shares take a dip, with US$2.2 billion wiped out in market value - the worst performance in the Philippines stock exchange in two decades.

Jollibee Foods Corporation controls around 56 per cent of the country's US$5 billion fast-food market, running over 3286 outlets in the country.

It is also running over 2,588 stores across the globe.

While some 88 percent of its outlets reopened by the end of the second quarter, the damage was already done as dine-in customers dropped and revenues fell by 46.6 percent to US$460 million (P23.3 billion).

"The business results were very bad but in line with our forecasts. We are now focusing on rebuilding our business moving forward along with implementing major cost improvement under our business transformation program," said Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO, Jollibee.

According to the company, they will shut close to 255 company-owned stores.

"The spending for business transformation includes closure of 255 company-owned stores, change in ownership of 95 stores from company to franchisees, payment of pre-termination penalties of stores in the US and China, closure of supply chain facilities, and reduction in the size of the organization in various countries where we do business," it added.