FRUITAS CONCENTRATES ON FUTURE STRATEGY AMID DILUTED SALES IN H1

Food kiosk king Lester Yu’s Fruitas Holdings Inc. saw its businesses sour in the first semester of 2020, with the lockdown forcing it to suspend nearly all operations.

Nevertheless, the company is eyeing improving numbers in the second half of the year as the economy reopens gradually.

Fruitas owns some of the most recognizable food stall brands in the country. It has over 1,000 outlets, including those under the flagship Fruitas Fresh, Sabroso Lechon, De Original Jamaican Pattie and Buko Loco.

The company felt the impact of the lockdown, which slashed sales by half to P462 million.

Fruitas Holdings booked a net loss of P12.3 million during this period.

“The sales decline for the second quarter of 2020 was unprecedented as we had to suspend operation of almost all of our stores because of the quarantine,” Yu said in a statement.

“It also coincided with the summer months, when our beverage sales [usually] peak,” he added.

Yu said the company kept costs at bay while betting on a business recovery in the second semester of 2020.

Branch openings were also calibrated, “taking into account profit contribution of each store.”

“We will be a more profitable and productive company as the economy slowly reopens while realizing that a return to prepandemic levels will take time,” Yu said.

“We also continue to pivot our business model to derive more contribution from delivery and community stores,” he added.

To replace lost sales, it turned to more deliveries during the lockdown.

The company said efforts here were focused on buko juice, Jamaican Pattie, the Soy & Bean soy product line.