A new store every 19 hours – pizza chain’s big growth plan

An Australian pizza chain is planning to open one new store every 19 hours before the end of the financial year next week.

Eagle Boys Pizza hopes to take over Pizza Hut to become the second biggest pizza chain in the next 12 months, with plans for 400 stores in total by 2011.

By next Tuesday, 30 June, Eagle Boys says it will open 10 new stores located in QLD, NSW and WA. The franchise has over 250 stores across the country, and records annual turnover in excess of $250 million.

Scott Hamilton, Eagle Boy’s national marketing manager, says the decision to open 10 stores in one week happened by accident, and that “it’s the way the stores have fallen”.

“We’re going through some fantastic growth and we’ve had a run of stores that have come together quickly. It just fell into place as a consequence of us growing quickly overall.”

Hamilton says the company has experienced up to 15% comparable store growth in previous years. That has fallen down into single digit growth during the downturn, but Hamilton says current economic conditions are pushing the company along.

“The current economy is helping us in terms of attracting quality franchisees. We’ve got a lot of franchisees now looking to shore up their future and security in creating a good system.”

“Additionally, pizza is attracting customers who want quality but don’t want to pay as much. So we’ve tried to differentiate ourselves from other players by going through a massive menu change, changing ingredients for more quality and bigger sizes to offer value.”

The move comes as Pizza Hut plans to introduce a new discount range of pizzas. Branded ‘Pizza Mia’, the product is essentially a medium-sized pizza that costs $5 when three or more are bought.

The company says the introduction of a new discount product is part of a move to regain market share, combined with the recent introduction of pasta products in January.

“This is a year of growth and investment for Pizza Hut, making significant changes in all areas of the business. It began with the hugely successful introduction of pasta and will continue,” chief executive Albert Baladi said in a statement.