Jollibee Corporation Foods
Jollibee Food Corporation, headquartered in the Philippines, was started in 1975 as a family owned and operated ice cream parlor. In 1977 the company expanded its operations to include hot sandwiches and other meals in an effort to stem the economic impact related to events that surrounded a global fuel crisis. By the late 1990's, Jollibee had grown into the largest fast food store in the country and was planning growth in other Asian markets (Jollibee, 2006). While expansion was initially due to local economic conditions; it was sustained and developed by the Tan family's desire to protect and grow market share nationally, as well as, internationally. Expansion was funded internally and through a public offering in 1993 that generated $8 million in additional capital; the Tan family retained a controlling majority of shares issued (Bartlett, Ghoshal & Birkinshaw, 2004). Even though the company's expansion was well funded, it was not enough to ensure financial success, management knew it must strategically develop and implement a plan that allowed flexibility in product offerings, marketing opportunities, production efficiency, and prime locations that supported its widening restaurant chain (Jollibee, 2006).
Economic conditions motivated product diversification, but expansion was driven by customer demand for a uniquely flavored hamburger. Expansion came quickly to Jollibee's do to management's ability to capitalize on the company's inner strengths and its philosophy the "Five F's: friendliness; flavorful food; flexibility in meeting customer demands; fun atmosphere; and a focus on the family (Bartlett et al, 2004). Management knew they had several core competencies in product offerings, quality, ...