Jollibee Philippines Organizational Structure

Success in any industry is acheived by a variety of factors, amount of capital, market segment targeting, values held by company founders and the type of people who are hired has a big impact as well. Still, something that many companies lack to take them to the next level is the organizational structure that allows the right people to be in the right place. There’s a saying that goes: First you gotta have the right people on the bus. Then you gotta make sure each person on the bus is sitting the right seat that’s designed specifically for their unique strengths. Only then do you worry about where the bus is going.

I believe that Jollibee Philippines had the same idea when they introduced a host of changes to their business beginning in 1994. These changes were mostly focused on creating more structure and taking advantage of more resources. First of all, they hired Tony Kitchner, the first outsider vice-president to handle their international operations. This was a key move to separate Jollibee Philippines International from Jollibee Philippines. They introduced FSM’s, known as Franchise Services Managers to help keep their franchise owners abreast of the new changes. These changes were aimed at creating a “world class” view, and you could see some of the changes visibly through the newly differentiated logo to the new packaging. They also instituted a dress code change as well as began to recruit from outside.

Overall, these changes certainly kept Jollibee Philippines ahead of the game, as 10 years in the future, their success would be so great as to garner the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young for founder Tony Tan Caktiong.

Jollibee Philippines Success Story

In the Philippines, the term fast food is pretty much synonymous with the Jollibee Philippines brand. It took more than just one man for it to become that way, but all it took to start was a man name Tony Tan Caktiong. The humble beginning for Tony was working with his father to operate a kitchen in Fujian, China. In 1975, Tony began his entreprenuerial journey with simply a pair of two ice cream parlors in Cubao, Quezon City.

Despite his success with the ice cream parlors, Tony didn’t stop there. He looked around the world and saw the kind of success chains like McDonalds were having. Instead of opening a franchise for an existing fast food chain like Burger King or Wendy’s, he decided to expand with the opening of his own chain of hamburger-serving fast food restaurants named Jollibee Philippines in 1978.

Since McDonald’s hadn’t yet entered into the Philippines, Tony capitalized on this fact by establishing his brand among the Filipino people. Instead of trying to learn everything from scratch, Tony traveled to the United States to learn the tricks of the trade from the already established chains such as McDonalds. By implementing these tried and true business practices back in the Phlippines, Tony’s hard work began to pay off when his business began to rapidly expand. The division of Jollibee Philippines really tries to serve the specific needs of the Filipino people and its culture by focusing its product development as well as its marketing and advertsing to target the unique and traditional Filipino family.

Today Tony Tan Caktiong serves as a success story and a role model for entreprenuers around the world. This was solified in 2004 when Tony was voted the Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. The chairman of Ernst and Young, James S. Turley said, “These awards are about celebrating global entrepreneurship and the desire to continually innovate and expand. Tony’s story is a truly inspirational one, on both these counts. We are delighted he has been selected to receive this year’s award.”

Jollibee Philippines Corporation

When I think of Jollibee Philippines, usually all I can think about is the mouth watering Yumburgers or ChickenJoy. But in reality, it takes so much more than just food to make Jollibee Philippines. If you’re curious about business operations for both the Jollibee Philippines division as well as Jollibee Philippines International, then hopefully this article will help out a little bit.

Acquistions in the Philippines

The corporation is actually known as Jollibee Philippines Foods Corporation. Oh and if you thought that Jollibee Philippines was the only fast food chain operated by this coporation, boy are you in for a surprise. To me, it seems like JFC owns a majority stake in all of the Filipino fast food niches. Do you ever eat at Chow King? I know I love the halo-halo there, but did you know that in the year 2000, JFC acquired Chowking! That’s right, all the delicious oriental style fast food from Chow King is operated at a high level by the same corporation as Jollibee Philippines. Oh and that’s not all. Seems like Jollibee Philippines Foods Corporation has the idea that diversification is key to its future, and I think they’re on the right track. JFC also bought out the popular fast food pizza restaurant known as Greenwich Pizza. Additionally, in 2005, Red Ribbon Bakery became part of JFC. Keeping with the baking theme, JFC acquired the French cafe and bakery known as Delifrance. The division of JFC that handles business inside of the Philippines is known as Jollibee Philippines.

Acquisitions outside of the Philippines

JFC has holdings in several other Asian countries including China and Taiwan. There’s a Chinese fast food chain named Yonghe King in mainland China (based in Shanghai) that is owned and operated by JFC. Another Chinese restaurant chain named Hongzhuangyuan was acquired on September 21, 2007. This chain has 33 locations in Beijing and was purchased for the amount of US $50.5 million.

Wow! I sure was surpised when I learned about all those acquisitions. It’s interesting to note that when I walk into any of the chains above that they’re owned and operated by the same corporation. I’m glad that Jollibee Philippines has a great track record with the Filipino community and that in addition to the amazing Jollibee Philippines stores in the Philippines, they can offer us a variety of different foods ranging from pizza, oriental food, coffee and baked goods. Yum!

Jollibee Philippines Advertising

In any business, no matter how you slice it, the more effective your advertising is, the more successful you will be. The fast food indsutry is no different, and the people at Jollibee Philippines (the division in the Philippines, as opposed to Jollibee Philippines International) definitely know what they’re doing when it comes to advertising. They know their target audience very well: the traditional Filipino family, and it caters very well towards the typical family in the Philippines.

Keep it in the Family

Focusing on the cultural tradition of the importance of family values, they have made a concerted effort to make sure that Filipinos associate Jollibee Philippines with a wholesome family meal. Not so much wholesome in the nutritional sense (it is fast food overall), but wholesome meaning that feeling you get inside your heart when you watch a “perfect” nuclear family with two parents, one boy and one girl enjoy the deliciousness of ChickenJoy on TV. Jollibee Philippines is targeting two areas: both the pallete as well as the heart. As you watch the young boy excitedly bite into his Yumburger with his insatiable appetite and his mother looking on with a friendly smile as she has french fries in her hands, you’re transpoorted to this magical fantasyland. You want to be part of that family. You want your family to be like that family. And in addition to all this, you want to go to Jollibee Philippines and eat a Yumburger. It might be a stretch to say that people will think that by going to Jollibee Philippines, their family can somehow transform and conform to this social norm.

In the Real World

And yet, when you walk into a Jollibee Philippines, you look around and many times that’s what you see: Filipino families congregating and enjoying their meal together. So what’s this say about the advertising? Is it effective advertising? I would argue that it is, but let’s not confuse correllation with causation. But at the end of the day, Jollibee Philippines keeps selling Yumburgers and ChickenJoy, so they must be doing something right with their advertising.

The Secret?

I believe it’s that intangible factor that their targeting in a person’s heart which makes it so successful. Remember that one commercial when the boy takes his mother to the local Jollibee Philippines and then he says that one day he’ll take her to Jollibee Philippines Hong Kong? That commercial is an example of successful advertising in multiple levels. It demonstrates the family value of caring for one’s parents today. It also sends the message about taking care of them in the future. Yet, not only is the boy promising mere local fast food, but he takes it to the next level by saying he will take her to Jollibee Philippines Hong Kong which resonates with each person’s internal desire for upward mobility.

In the end, it’s clear that the advertisers at Jollibee Philippines have been doing their research and know the Filipino culture very well. In addition to knowing the culture, I would go so far as to say they are contributing to the culture and changing it at the same time, something not many companies can say. Now the trick will be to see how successful Jollibee Philippines International can be by learning how to cater to a country’s niche food desires the way Jollibee Philippines has.

Jollibee Philippines Mascot

I honestly wonder what goes through the heads of fast-food chain management and founders when deciding what their mascot should be. It must have been an interesting time when the creators of McDonalds came up with the idea of a friendly clown dressed in red, yellow and white. I guess things were a bit simpler for Dave Thomas when he named the franchise after his daughter Wendy, though I would hesitate to call her a mascot. We all know how bad (or maybe good?) things can get when a fast food chain brainstorms the brilliant idea of a talking chihuahua that speaks in Spanish about how much he wants (or loves?) Taco Bell. Interestingly enough, not all successful chains need a mascot (or maybe they weren’t memorable) in the case of chains like Arby’s, but many do, like Jack of Jack in the Box and The King of Buger King - all normal people with ridiculous masks or, um, heads.

Now what does this have to do with Jollibee Philippines? Well, many would attribute Jollibee Philippines’s success in the Philippines to its mascot, sharing the same name as the franchise: the Jollibee Philippines. Is it a coincidence that Jollibee Philippines chose its mascot to be bright yellow and red as well? Perhaps not - as gaudy as those colors may seem, they are more than vibrant enough to catch the eye’s attention. These colors exposed to children who grow up on Jollibee Philippines begin a lifelong association of bright yellow and red with delicious, affordable and fast food. Reminiscent of the memorable flavors of popular condiments for hamburgers (or Yumburgers) and hot dogs, the yellow and red bee named Jollibee Philippines is dressed in a chef’s hat along with a shirt and blazer.

Jollibee Philippines’s smiling face is friendly enough to be a favorite among kids, and his face is prevalent in many locations that include playrooms for children. Clearly, this cartoon figure is aimed at the younger generation, but it does not alienate the older generation, especially these days, when many of us have grown up eating Jollibee Philippines. It’s easy to say that this figure has been pivotal in the branding and marketing efforts that have led to such success in the Philippines.