You won’t believe how massive Pizza Hut’s expansion plans are for 2014
They’re bringing up their store numbers to 500 in the next few years.
As the brand ended 2013 with the opening of their 300th store in the country, Pizza Hut revealed that it plans to continue to grow with the launch of 200 more stores for the Australian market in the nex 7-8 years.
Below is a Q&A with Graeme Houston, General Manager of Pizza Hut.
QSR Media: What are some of the goals for 2014?
Houston: In 2014, we will continue to put significant investment into opening new stores.
This aggressive expansion plan will target 25 new units open across the country, which is an investment of around $7.5 million.
One of the key drivers for our growth has been the increasing consumer demand for Pizza Hut products.
With this in mind, we hope to reach full market store distribution over the next seven to eight years which will take our store numbers to 500, making the Pizza Hut brand available to almost all Australian households.
On top of this, we are committed to bringing great tasting pizzas, excellent value and an unrivalled experience to our customers and we want to continue to develop and grow the Pizza Hut brand to ensure our franchise model remains thriving, viable and rewarding for investors.
QSR Media: How will you achieve these goals?
Houston: Over the last 12 months, we have added 18 new units to the Pizza Hut brand and are confident we have the model worked out.
We have the lowest entry cost of any of the major players and this is hugely important for prospective franchisees when evaluating various investment options in the market.
QSR Media: What's Pizza Hut doing to enable multi-unit franchising?
Houston: Ultimately franchisees have to evaluate the investment option. Therefore the key to multi unit development is having a compelling investment opportunity.
Pizza Hut works closely with franchisees and provides ongoing coaching to ensure they have every opportunity to grow both their business and their own skills.
Pizza Hut works with a large number of franchisees and actively encourages each and every one to work better and more efficiently in their businesses.
QSR Media: What broader QSR trends do you think 2014 will hold?
Houston: The market will continue to gravitate to digital as we have seen in 2013.
This year, Pizza Hut Australia broke its all time online sales record which was an exciting time for the brand.
