MANILA, Philippines – Fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corporations (JFC) said on Friday, August 8, that it has temporarily closed down 72 stores under its umbrella, representing 3.2% of its total store network, because of the limited availability of chicken, burgers and other bestsellers.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Jollibee explained that the company’s migration to a new system that started on August 1, 2014, has slowed down its sales order taking, product loading, and transport of goods.
As a result, it had to close down some stores in Metro Manila and nearby cities due to the absence of its best-selling products or because other stores offered very limited menu.
JFC owns, aside from Jollibee, other food restaurants such as Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Burger King, among others.
The company, however, refused to provide a breakdown of the 72 stores that were closed.
Jollibee apologized to its millions of customers.
“In our estimate, the JFC group has not been able to serve the consumer to the extent of 6% of its normal nationwide sales in the first 7 days of August 2014,” the fast food giant said.
Jollibee Group said it has sufficient raw materials, finished products, and production capacity to meet consumer demand for August and for the months ahead, both for local and imported goods.
The company just has to fix the new IT system it put in place.
“The products are in the company's various commissaries, warehouses, and logistics center. JFC will also enhance its transportation delivery capability in the months ahead,” it added.
Chicken war
Jollibee’s distraught customers took to social media on August 7, complaining about their missing “favorites.”
#ChickenSad, a spoof of Chicken Joy, became a trending hashtag.
Rival KFC seized the moment and posted this photo on Twitter:
(http://assets.rappler.com/612F469A6EA84F6BAE882D2B94A4B421/img/C32F876CAEFD4D8F972EA9B058C6C702/chicken-sad-kfc-inline-20140808_C32F876CAEFD4D8F972EA9B058C6C702.jpg)
The system that caused the glitch is what the company described as a new enterprise platform – its biggest IT investment amounting to at least P500 million ($11.34 million*) for 2014 alone.
This involves a central integrating system and a store information system for the entire Jollibee network in the Philippines, among others.
“The purpose of this major investment is to prepare JFC for an accelerated business growth in the Philippines and abroad as it pursues its goal to become the largest Asian restaurant company and one of the most successful restaurant companies in the world,” the company said.
On August 6, Jollibee reported that it is putting up stores in Malaysia and Indonesia, solidifying its footprint in Southeast Asia.
Jollibee Group operates the largest food service network in the Philippines.
Jollibee is already present in Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and the Middle East.
From Rappler.com (http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/176-food-and-beverage/65659-jollibee-temporarily-closes-stores)