By Anri Ichimura, esquiremag.ph
The Madrid store is now Jollibee’s biggest restaurant in Europe.
Talk about Jollibee fever.
Madrid-based OFWs and Spanish customers waited as early as 10 p.m. on September 22 for the opening of Jollibee’s first-ever store in Spain on September 23. The eager customers braved Madrid’s cold nighttime weather for a guaranteed seat in Jollibee’s redesigned Spanish store.
According to Jollibee Foods Corp., this was one of the brand’s biggest openings in Europe to date, with thousands of customers dropping by on the first day. Jollibee Madrid is the brand’s largest store in Europe so far, with a seating capacity of 200 and a redesigned interior to suit Madrid’s crowd. The new bold colors and tropical touches are a head-nod at Jollibee’s Philippine roots even as the now global conglomerate focuses its efforts on its European expansion plan.
“The heartwarming reception to our opening in Spain inspires us in our journey to bring our much-loved Chickenjoy to more countries in Europe, and is in line with our vision to become among the top five restaurant companies in the world,” said Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO of Jollibee Group.
With a strong base secured in the Philippines, Jollibee is now setting its sites abroad as it commits €50 million (P2.9 billion) to open 50 new stores in Europe, with €10 million (P587 million) already going to Spain.
Jollibee already has 1,400 restaurants around the world, including New York, Rome, London, L.A., and more.