Jollibee To Inject $60 Million For Tim Ho Wan Expansion In China

Philippines fast food restaurant chain operator Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) says it will inject over $60 million to expand Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan, its dim sum chain in China.

Tim Ho Wan presently operates 67 restaurants across six Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. Jollibee aims to boost the dim sum chain’s store number in Mainland China from 11 to 100 in the next four years. Tim Wo Han recently opened the 10th and 11th branches in Beijing, the capital of China.

The company counts China, the Philippines and the U.S as its three key markets. Jollibee is a market leader in the Philippines, with 1,186 stores and has already had significant exposure to the mainland China market. Founded by Tony Tan Caktiong, JFC started as an ice-cream shop. They swiftly grew into the Philippines' most famous fried chicken joint and an international fast-food conglomerate with over 6000 locations worldwide.

“Since 2020, the majority of our store openings have been happening outside the Philippines. And we intend to continue this through 2022 and beyond as we aim for a 50-50 split between domestic and international sales,” said Jollibee Group President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong. In 2021, JFC recorded an operating income of PHP6.3 billion, reversing its PHP11.5 million operating loss in 2020, he said.

Jollibee had, earlier in 2015, announced plans to open more than 1400 Dunkin’ Donuts outlets over 20 years across China. In 2017, Jollibee sold off its 55% stake in San Pin Wang beef noodle chain to focus on growing its Yonghe King brand, a Taiwanese food-inspired restaurant and Hong Zhuang Yuan. Presently, Yonghe King and Hong Zhuang Yuan have 410 and 54 branches, respectively. In 2018 Jollibee bought into the Tim Ho Wan parent company, Titan Dining, investing $33.1 million for a 45 per cent stake in the group. It increased the stake to 100% in 2021 of Tim Ho Wan’s master franchise in the region.

“Given the potential and the success of our new stores, we will be opening 100 Tim Ho Wan stores in China, which is one of our pillar markets. With the solid recovery achieved in 2021, we are geared for further growth in 2022 and years ahead. To achieve our vision, we’re determined to not just lead locally but also grow globally,” Tanmantiong said.

Jollibee is upbeat about expanding the Tim Wo Han to China and growing it in the likes of popular chains like McDonald’s and Yum Brands in the next four years.