[Courtesy of CJ Foodville]
CJ Foodville, a food service unit of South Korea's CJ Group, unveiled an ambitious goal Monday to become one of the world's ten largest food service companies like global giants McDonald's and Starbucks by 2020.
CJ Foodville CEO Jung Moon-mok said he would try to raise the company's overseas sales to 52 percent from 11 percent this year in five years, based on its flagship brands including Bibigo, Tous Les Jours, and Twosome Place.
The country's largest food service giant has streamlined its structure to focus on expanding the global presence of its food service brands.
"I'm confident ... if our growth maintains its current moment," he told reporters at a ceremony to open a food mall in southern Seoul, describing CJ Foodville as the only Korean brand capable of competing abroad with global giants.
He promised to raise the company's total sales from two trillion won (1.74 billion US dollars) last year to 6.8 trillion won in 2020, and the number of total outlets from 2,435 to 7,227 including 3,950 abroad.
"By 2020, we will try to become one of the world's top-ten food service companies capable of competing with McDonald's and Starbucks," Jung said, adding his company would focus on increasing franchise networks in China, Southeast Asia, and the United States.
In China, he set his eyes on four cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Guangzhou. Bibigo, the company's restaurant chain featuring bibimbap (rice mixed with seasoned vegetables), has secured a strong foothold in China and the United States, Jung said.
CJ Foodville has joined the race to buy or jointly run the South Korean unit of US iconic fast food chain McDonald. "We have no quick-service restaurants like McDonald's," Jung said, adding CJ was interested in know-how acquired by the world's largest fast food restaurant chain.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
