Pizza parlor chain plans expansion for 2018

Following a “banner year”, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures (SPAVI) plans to add 20 restaurants to reach a total of 228 outlets by year end.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the family-led company says it opened 24 stores last year, exceeding its target of 20.

“It has been a banner year for Shakey’s – our maiden year as a publicly listed company – as this is the fastest we’ve grown in terms of store network,” says president Vicente Gregorio. “We are keeping pace with the accelerating growth of our economy.”

He says Shakey’s aims to open stores in areas outside of first-tier cities. It opened restaurants in provincial locations last year including Iligan, Puerto Princesa, Antique, Gapan, and Palo, Leyte.

“As Filipinos are now looking for more premium dining experiences, we are driven by our mission to consistently ‘wow’ them. This includes upgrading our look, launching innovative products and emphasising quality service,” says Gregorio.

Earlier, the company said its plans were to reach a total network of 500 local and overseas restaurants in the next five years, to be funded by internally generated cashflow alongside proceeds from its public offering.

Established in California in 1954, Shakey’s business in the Philippines is now bigger than in the US. In fact, the Philippine market is the brand’s largest market. The Philippine company is independent after acquiring the brand’s trademark and intellectual property rights, and also owns perpetual rights for the brand for the Middle East, Asia (excluding Japan and Malaysia), China, India, Australia and New Zealand.

The company’s recurring net income for the first nine months of last year grew by 15 per cent year-on-year to PHP519 million (US$10.3 million) on higher sales. System-wide sales rose by 15 per cent to PHP6 billion, driven by same-store sales growth of 6 per cent and the increase in store numbers.