Max’s Group brings Yellow Cab to China

MANILA, Philippines - Another Filipino firm is looking to make it big in the world’s second largest economy.

Homegrown restaurant giant Max’s Group Inc. is bringing the Yellow Cab Pizza brand to China as it aims to take a slice of the Asian economic powerhouse’s billion dollar pizza market.

Max’s Group signed an agreement with ZhongFa Group of China to build at least 15 Yellow Cab Pizza stores in Beijing, Tianjin, and parts of the Hebei province within the next five years.

Filipino-owned firms such as Jollibee Foods Corp. and the SM Group have long made their presence felt in China and Max’s Group is hoping to replicate the success of these two corporate giants.

“Our approach of entering China through the franchise model and finding the right partner to bring it to that level is key. Jollibee has their approaches of bringing their products into China. Our model is through the franchise and finding the right partner,” Max’s Group president and CEO Robert Trota said in an interview yesterday.

Trota said China remains a big and attractive market despite the slowdown in its economy in the past years.

“We feel it is a good opportunity for us to come in because China has a large millennial market exposed to other international brands. Having new choices is a great opportunity. People are there to try, and being new to the market is good for us,” he said.

Peter King, Max’s Group CEO for international operations, said the decision to bring Yellow Cab to China stemmed from the clamor of visitors from China, particularly those who have tried the product in Boracay.

“China is top of the list where we wanted to go. China is a difficult country to get into. Once you get into it, it can be quite challenging,” King said.

“If you go into China, you got to have a good partner. We believe we found an excellent partner with the Zhongfa Group,” he added.