Jumbo opens fifth outlet in China

CATALIST-LISTED restaurant group Jumbo Group Ltd on Tuesday announced the opening of its fifth Jumbo seafood outlet in China as it looks to grow its footprint in the Chinese food and beverage market.

The outlet, located in downtown Shanghai at the L'Avenue Mall in Hongqiao, occupies a floor space of approximately 820 square metres and has a seating capacity of 212 with seven private rooms, the group said in an aftermarket filing with the Singapore Exchange.

Jumbo said that the locality "will allow for the capture of a wider mix of affluent clientele that includes the financial and business communities".

Its first three outlets in Shanghai are located at IAPM Mall (Xuhui District), Raffles City (Huangpu District) and the Shanghai International Finance Centre. Outside of Shanghai, the group also has a single Jumbo Seafood outlet at the Beijing SKP mall.

The expansion comes at a time when the restaurant group's outlets in China are generating a bigger share of revenue - with approximately 17.5 per cent of revenue or S$25.4 million for FY17, compared to 8.5 per cent or S$10.5 million for FY15.

Ang Kiam Meng, group CEO and executive director of Jumbo, said: "We are highly encouraged by the continued success we have in growing the Jumbo Seafood brand in the Chinese market. This has allowed us to steadily expand our presence in the market with the opening of five outlets in a relatively short span of four years since our maiden entry in 2013."

Jumbo also sees the potential for opening more outlets in China in the coming years.

Jumbo shares closed flat at S$0.565 on Tuesday.