Jollibee exits Vietnamese noodle house Pho 24

The Philippines' Jollibee Foods Corp. said it is exiting the Vietnamese noodle chain venture Pho 24 as it has agreed to transfer its assets to Vietnam-based firm East-West Restaurant Concepts.

East-West Restaurant Concepts is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Viet Thai International JSC.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Jollibee said its franchise agreement for the operation of Pho 24 restaurants in the Philippines was terminated. Pho 24 now operates 14 stores and one factory in Vietnam, Jollibee added.

In 2021, Jollibee said it would open 100 Pho 24 stores in the Philippines.

With the move, Jollibee will concentrate on building and growing new businesses, including Chinese restaurant chains Tim Ho Wan, Japanese beef bowl Yoshinoya restaurants, and Taiwanese bubble tea Milksha brand.

Pho 24 opened its first restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City in June 2003, as an elevated dish, versus its traditional format of street food. In November 2011, Ly Qui Trung, the founder, sold all his shares to Viet Thai International JSC for $20 million. Later on, Viet Thai sold a 50% stake to Jollibee for $25 million.

In Vietnam, Jollibee runs chicken restaurant Jollibee, coffee chain Highlands Coffee, and coffee store The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Highlands Coffee, with 609 stores as of January 2023, is the most successful, reporting post-tax profits between VND46.7 billion ($2 million) and VND99.8 billion ($4.25 million) yearly between 2016 and 2022. It recorded a post-tax loss of VND19 billion ($809,459) in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.