Case Study: Jollibee Foods Corporation (a): International Expansion

Case Study: Jollibee Foods Corporation (A):

International Expansion

Name: Matt DelRio

QUESTION 1: How was Jollibee able to build its dominant position in fast food in the Philippines?

Jollibee was able to offer great tasting food, a fun atmosphere, focused on the importance of families, and catered to customer needs all while providing an affordable price.

A key factor to Jollibee's success is when they decided to change from an ice cream parlor to selling burgers. Management realized that the climate was changing and therefore they were able to make strategic decisions.

QUESTION 2: What sources of competitive advantage was it able to develop against McDonald's in its home market?

When McDonald's entered the Philippines in 1981, this posed as a major challenge. Many advised Jollibee's owner to start building a strong second-place position in the market, but they saw that consumers preferred the taste of their hamburger and they decided to go head to head with McDonald's.

Since Jollibee was the first major burger seller in the Philippines, it shaped customer preferences. Jollibee was able to take advantage of the lack of flexibility of McDonald's. Jollibee continued to provide unique menu items with Filipino recipes while all at a reasonable price. Jollibee Food Corporation the preferred tastes of the locals and therefore helped them get a good reputation and good customer feedback.

QUESTION 3: How would you evaluate Tony Kitchner's effectiveness as the head of Jollibee's international division? Does his broad strategic thrust make sense? How effectively did he develop the organization to implement its priorities?

Kitchner had the goal of making Jollibee one of the world's top ten fast food brands by the year 2000. In his plan to increase international expansion, he implemented two strategies, "targeting expats" and "planting the flag". His plan of "targeting expats" allows the company to transition into an unfamiliar market much easier because expatriate Filipinos working in other countries could relate to Jollibee's. Though there is a huge risk of targeting a narrow segment, Jollibee's local success allows for momentum to generate for the expansion and growth of the company. However, Kitchner quickly found out that this market was limited and that not all of the overseas Filipinos were potential customers.

The next strategy is called "plant the flag". It is where Jollibee would be the pioneers and would plan to set up in countries where competitors had little or no presence. What seemed to be

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