Question 01: How was Jollibee able to build its dominant position in fast food in the Philippines? What sources of competitive advantage was it able to develop against McDonald’s in its home market?
The major attribute or feature that made Jollibee built a dominant position in the fast food industry of Philippines has been backed by the fact that the company focused on the philosophy of “Five Fs”. The five Fs which made the company a successful entity over the rival brands have been have been friendliness, flavorful food, a fun atmosphere, flexibility in catering to customer needs, and a focus on families. Moreover, the economic and political events that took place in the county also helped and supported Jollibee to compete with the rivals.
As the case discusses, McDonald’s has been a successful multinational fast food brand where it has ample revenues and technical advancement, expertise in the industry. However, in spite of the success, Jollibee has been able to compete with the company based on the fact that the customers in the country have been fond of Jollibee hamburger and have actually preferred using it more than the hamburger offered at McDonalds.
Since McDonalds has been renowned for its Big Mac, to compete with this product, Jollibee launched its own large burger which it named as Champ.Another competitive edge which Jollibee capitalized was the fact that, the general public preferred Jollibee and felt pride consuming it more than McDonalds.
Along with the emotional attachment, Jollibee even focused on a varied menu where it offered spaghetti, chicken and a unique peach-mango dessert pie, all developed to local customers which were specifically made for the local consumers. The above mentioned attributes and features have been the success factor for the company against industry giant McDonalds.
Question 02: How would you evaluate Tony Kitchner’s effectiveness as the first head of Jollibee’s international division? Does his board strategic thrust make sense? How effectively did he develop the organization to implement his priorities?
Tony Kitchner’s effectiveness as the first head of the Jollibee’s international division can be considered as a failed attempt because of the fact that he followed the sprinkler approach. The reason is simple, since he entered many countries simultaneously where he opened up stores and fast food outletsin many countries simultaneously. However, since the company did not have enough budgets to spend upon promoting its brand in the new markets, therefore the idea of expanding in many countries was a fail attempt. Along with this, the limited resources were also a concern that backfire the approach of Kitchner. He did not have enough revenues to integrate in the new markets.
Kitchner board strategic thrust does not make sense because he wanted the international division to be entirely separate from the Jollibee operating in Philippines. Kitchner wanted to make the international division an entirely different unit where he did not allowed the interference of the skills and expertise of Philippine population.
In spite of his failure as the first head of the Jollibee’s international division, Kitchner was able to develop and align the overall idea of international division by focusing on the R&D and innovation, where he focused on improving the menu for the international division.
Jollibee Foods Corporation (A) International Expansion Case Solution
Question 03: As Noli Tingzon, how would you deal with three options described at the end of the case?
The three growth options that are available in the case that shall help decide the company in the future isto enter the Papua New Guinea: Raising the Standard, Hong Kong: Expanding the Base and the California: Supporting the Settlers.
Papua New Guinea: Raising the Standard:
The first option is to expand itself in the Papua New Guinea market because the total population of the country is five million whereas the total number of fast food restaurant is three which deliver below standard quality. As per Quality Assurance Manager Gil Salsova he believed that if Jollibee can enter this market, it shall be able to penetrate in the market and can gauge in customers towards the products offered by Jollibee.
Hong Kong: Expanding the Base:
The second growth option available for the company is to open up a fourth store in Honk Kong. The country has been facing management issues and the franchise has been unable to attract the local population. Moreover, the recognition of McDonalds has been quite high where the people have preferred it. The menu was also unappealing to the local population. The management issues were also quite evident within the country........................
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