The smell of home which welcomes us Filipino-Australians or any balikbayan, for that matter, is the homey aroma of Jollibee. Seems like the Filipino-grown brand is setting up shop here in Australia.
No formal announcements have been made but a job post from LinkedIn made this buzz unnoticeable in April this year. The Jollibee Group of Companies, according to the ad, was looking for a Country Operations Manager (Australia). The first sentence of the ad reads, ‘Represents the company and Jollibee brand in the existing territory,’ and the first Key Result Area specifies, ‘executes the Market Entry Process’.
Let’s not get all giddy yet until we get the official word from Jollibee’s top honchos. But if this placement is any indication, it is likely that Australia will get a taste of Beeda ang Sarap goodness of Chicken Joy and Champ, soon.
The Philippine Times has since reached out to Jollibee for a comment. The Jollibee Group responded, “We remain focused on our entry into Australia, and are continuously sourcing for the right site.”
Unfortunately the Jollibee Group is not willing to comment further on their expansion to Australia. As to when this will be, a source close to The Philippine Times who would like to remain anonymous has said it will still be some time away.
As of November 2019, Jollibee operates at over 1300 stores worldwide, 1,130 of which are in the Philippines, its country of origin, and 234 are situated in foreign markets.
Aside from the Philippines, Vietnam is the only country to have 100 or more Jollibee outlets.
Photo credit: Philtimes composite based on FlickrChicken Joy | Rodel Bontes | Flickr
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