Food group Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) remains optimistic about market prospects for its pizza restaurant chain this year saying it remains focused on expanding its business in the Philippines particularly in Visayas and Mindanao.
Vicente Gregorio, SPAVI president, on the sidelines of an event in Quezon City on Monday marking the 50th year of flagship brand Shakey’s Pizza in the Philippines, said the chain is looking at 20 new store openings this year, half of which are franchise and the other half are company-owned. Last year, Shakey’s also added 20 branches.
Focus will be in Visayas and Mindanao where Gregorio said growth “will be coming from in the next couple of years”
“We believe the potential for growth is for long-term because we’re like a perfect match for those who want better than fast food but priced lower than fine dining. Remember the economy is not in the best shape. Once the economy improves, that’s where we see a big upside,” said Gregorio.
Shakey’s operates in the casual dining segment. It owns the brand and the rights to franchise and operate Shakey’s Pizza in Asia ex-Japan, in the Middle East and the Oceania.
At present, SPAVI has Shakey’s stores in Singapore and the Middle East.
Gregorio said the bulk of the business remains in the Philippines where many areas are still under-penetrated like “outside Metro Manila. But we already have made inroads across international market. We continue to look for the right opportunity to expand internationally.”
He noted the absence of Shakey’s Pizza in many cities as well as in first- and second-class municipalities.
A Shakey’s store costs around P18 million to P25 million to build.
Currently, Gregorio said, SPAVI has around 300 Shakey’s stores out of its 2,483-store network for all of its brands — Shakey’s, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, R&B Milk Tea, Potato Corner and Project Pie.
“We’re still almost on a 50-50 ratio. We’re also keen on opening more company stores, but whenever we see a franchise partner come up to us with a good location, we also consider that. Depending on the market condition, we have different store models — freestanding stores, mall stores, in-line stores — that we can choose from and decide what is suitable for that specific city or location,” he said.
While SPAVI is yet to release its 2024 financial results, Gregorio expressed confidence the group posted double-digit growth.
“Despite the very challenging market conditions last year, we’re proud to say they’re one of those few brands that still have been growing,” he said.
SPAVI last year issued a guidance of double-digit profit growth with topline growing by around “mid-teens.”
However, its nine -month bottom line last year dropped 10 percent at P671 million from P745.55 million the prior year. Systemwide sales rose by 15 percent to P15.5 billion from P13.5 billion.
