Long John Silver's opens global flagship in Indonesia as it plans expansion

Seafood restaurant chain Long John Silver’s has opened its global flagship store in Gading Serpong, Indonesia with plans to continue its expansion in Indonesia.

The flagship store is the brand’s first store in Indonesia with a second franchised location set to open in Q4 2023. The brand aims to open over 50 restaurants in the area in due course, according to a statement by the brand.

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“We have seen great success establishing brand recognition and customer satisfaction in Singapore, which encouraged us to look at neighboring markets for expansion opportunities,” says Nate Fowler, Long John Silver’s brand president.

He further added “The delicious cuisine, paired with the newly booming fast-food industry, made Indonesia an ideal option for Long John Silver’s next venture.”

The design of the new two-storey Gading Serpong location pays homage to the brand's heritage while incorporating localised design elements, statues of Long John Silver’s namesake mascot and Captain Flint along with a free-standing drive-thru.

The Indonesian location will additionally offer a spicy variant of the brand’s signature batter for fried proteins alongside the original batter recipe.

“From my first encounter with Long John Silver’s in Miami several years ago, I knew I had to be the one to bring the beloved seafood chain to my home, Indonesia,” says Mr. Chandra Supandi, president director of Long John Silver's Indonesia in a statement.

The expansion into Indonesia was announced in October 2021 after the brand reported its sixth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, while also posting high average unit volumes (AUVs) earlier that year. In addition, over the course of the last two years (2020-2021), the national seafood company grew total system sales by 2.5% year-over-year.

"It's really an exciting time for Long John Silver's, and we must ensure the right infrastructure is in place to continue our brand's strong momentum, support our key strategic investments and expand globally," said Blain Shortreed, CEO of Long John Silver's.

Following Long John Silver's expansion, Philippine fast-food company, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is aiming to expand its global presence by opening up 600 stores this year.

In a stock exchange filing, Jollibee said it plans to open 550 to 600 owned and franchised stores in 2023, expecting the capital expenditures to range from P17 to P19billion.

This exceeds the total stores opened last year, which was 542.

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