The American pizzeria chain is taking control of its franchised restaurants to implement a new strategy. An approach already undertaken by Subway sandwiches for several months.
Yum! Brands, the American parent company of Pizza Hut, will take over the management of the brand's pizzerias and franchisees in France, until now carried out by the Polish group AmRest Holdings, in particular in order to accelerate openings, it announced on Wednesday in a press release.
An approach comparable to that of the McWin Capital Partners fund which took over the master franchise of Subway in France a few months ago, with a view in particular to opening its own sandwich shops, according to its managers.
Pizza Hut France, created for the occasion, will be managed by Anne Lainé, formerly at McDonald's France, and will bring together the brand's 129 restaurants and its 57 franchisees, specifies the Yum! group. Brands, parent company of Pizza Hut, in a press release.
Ambition hampered by Covid
The first Pizza Hut was opened in 1987 in France. The AmRest Holdings group, based in Poland and which manages numerous franchises (Burger King, Starbucks, etc.), has held the “master franchise” since 2017.
At the time, the Pizza Hut network had 150 points of sale in France and Amrest intended to double this in 5 years, but Covid prevented this and new pizzeria concepts developed.
“The French are the second largest consumers of pizza in the world, and we are determined, with our franchisees and our entire team, to help them rediscover the pleasure and conviviality of Pizza Hut’s offering,” comments the new director. general in the press release.
New openings, digitization and repositioning of the brand with a move upmarket are on the menu for this takeover by Yum! Brands.
The American group, which also manages KFC and Taco Bell, is also banking on synergies with its other brands, notably KFC, “which has experienced strong growth in France in recent years”.
Subway on the same path
Same reasoning for the London fund McWin Capital Partners, created by the founders of AmRest and also manager of numerous franchises in Europe (Burger King, Popeyes, Vapiano…), which took over the master franchise of Subway in France a few months ago.
“The fund manages the master franchise of Burger King and Popeyes in Eastern Europe and has bought the Italian restaurant group Big Mamma in France… this will allow us to create synergies,” explains Sandra Chassan, boss, to AFP. of Subway for France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
“We continue to develop with our franchisees but the goal is to have fewer contacts, therefore more multi-franchisees, and to develop branch restaurants which will be our showcases,” explains the boss of Subway.
Present in France for more than 20 years, the American sandwich brand has 375 restaurants. It has just bought three of its own and aims to open one to two restaurants or branch outlets per month, with the objective of doubling its network within 10 years (the end of the master franchise contract).
The challenge: rejuvenate the customer base, reposition points of sale in the best-stocked locations, digitalize (by installing order terminals, etc.) while increasing the workforce. More than fifty people were recruited to operate the branch restaurants, according to Sandra Chassan.
In 2023, Subway recorded a turnover of 210 million euros in France, up 4% compared to the year before.
