{"id":117209,"date":"2019-10-11T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/behind-the-headlines-looking-at-another-pizza-the-problem-2\/"},"modified":"2024-12-30T06:32:58","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T11:32:58","slug":"behind-the-headlines-looking-at-another-pizza-the-problem-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/strategy\/behind-the-headlines-looking-at-another-pizza-the-problem-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Headlines: Looking at another pizza the problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another week, another tale of woe for brick-and-mortar businesses. This time, we learned that British restaurant chain PizzaExpress was at risk of folding, following in the footsteps of Jamie Oliver\u2019s Italian restaurants and long-established travel operator Thomas Cook. PizzaExpress ended 2018 with a staggering $1.37bn of debt, resulting in the company spending more than $112m in interest payments alone each year.<\/p>\n

It is surprising news for a number of reasons. PizzaExpress was acquired by Hony Capital for $1.1bn just three years ago\u2014and as recently as last month, market research firm YouGov listed them as the UK’s second-favorite casual dining experience in terms of “brand health”:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
RANK<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nBRAND<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n2019 SCORE<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nGreggs<\/td>\n17.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nPizzaExpress<\/td>\n14.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nJD Wetherspoon<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nCosta Coffee<\/td>\n13.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nZizzi<\/td>\n10.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n

So, what went wrong? Well, speculation is as rife as the over-use of puns about them “running out of dough” in the British press, but there are a few common themes in a struggling market that sees more restaurant locations close every year:<\/p>\n

\"Graphic<\/p>\n

Source: The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n

Firstly, the casual-dining market has become somewhat over-saturated after initially booming off the back of the financial crisis in 2008. Diners are now faced with a dizzying array of choices, and simply offering good quality, reasonably priced food isn\u2019t enough to survive anymore. The ever-increasing demands of the buying public\u2014and the ever-decreasing spend they’re willing to part with\u2014mean that restaurants of all shapes and sizes are having to innovate. offer something special to entice diners inside, and provide better customer experiences than ever before.<\/p>\n

So, what can brands actually do?<\/p>\n