Pizza Hut, once a beloved destination for families and groups drawn to its all-you-can-eat buffet, expansive salad bar, and customizable ice cream station, is facing new challenges.
With declining patronage, the chain is set to shutter nearly half of its UK locations following its second acquisition out of administration this year.
“We used to go to Pizza Hut when I was a child,” remarked Prudence, in an interview with the BBC, when asked about the chain’s struggles. “It was like a family thing, you’d go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” Now 24, she observes, “it’s not a thing anymore”.
Martina Debnatch, 23, suggests that the very features that defined Pizza Hut since its UK debut in the 1970s may now be contributing to its decline.
“The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it feels like they are cheapening on their quality and have lower standards…They’re giving away so much food and you’re like ‘How?'”
The surge in food prices has rendered Pizza Hut’s all-you-can-eat model increasingly unsustainable. Compounding this is the challenge of maintaining its 132 restaurants, a number slated to be reduced to 64.
Like many businesses, Pizza Hut has also encountered escalating operational costs. April saw a rise in staffing expenses due to minimum wage increases (nearly 7% this year, reaching £12.21 for those 21 and over), alongside higher employer national insurance contributions.
Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29, once frequented Pizza Hut for dates, but now opt for Domino’s deliveries, finding Pizza Hut “very overpriced”.
Giulia Crouch, food expert and author of “The Happiest Diet in the World,” notes that Pizza Hut and Domino’s prices are comparable, depending on the order.
While Pizza Hut offers takeaway and delivery via Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat, it faces stiff competition from rivals dedicated solely to this market.
“Domino’s has managed to dominate the takeaway pizza sector thanks to aggressive marketing and constantly running deals that make consumers feel like they’re getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are quite high,” says Ms Crouch.
For Chris and Joanne, however, the convenience of home delivery outweighs other considerations.
“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” says Joanne, mirroring recent data indicating a decline in customers at casual and fast-food establishments.
Casual and fast-food restaurants experienced a 6% decrease in customers this past summer compared to the previous year.
Another competitor has also emerged in both the restaurant and takeaway pizza sectors: the cook-at-home oven pizza.
Will Hawkley, head of leisure and hospitality at KPMG, points out that supermarkets have been offering high-quality oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.
“Lifestyle changes are also playing a factor in the success of fast-food chains,” says Mr Hawkley.
The rising popularity of high protein diets has boosted sales at chicken shops, while hitting sales of carb-heavy pizza, he adds.
As people go out to eat less frequently they may look for a more a premium experience and Pizza Hut’s American-diner style with booth seating can feel more retro than upmarket.
The “explosion of high-quality pizzerias” over the last 10 to 15 years, such as Franco Manca, has “fundamentally changed the public’s perception of what good pizza is,” says Ms Crouch.
“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a few choice toppings, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what’s caused Pizza Hut’s downfall,” she says.
“Why would anyone spend £17.99 on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully made Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?
“It’s a no-brainer.”
Dan Puddle, owner of Smokey Deez, a small mobile pizza van in Suffolk, states, “People haven’t lost their love for pizza; they simply want better value for their money.”
Puddle contends that his flexible operation allows him to offer premium pizza at accessible prices, a feat Pizza Hut struggled to achieve due to its inability to adapt to evolving customer preferences.
Jack Lander, owner of Pizzarova, an independent chain based in Bristol, believes that while the pizza market is expanding, Pizza Hut has failed to innovate.
“You now have slice concepts, London pizza, new haven, sourdough, Neapolitan, Detroit – it’s a heavenly minefield for a pizza-loving consumer to explore.”
Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don’t have any sense of nostalgia or loyalty to the brand.
Over time, Pizza Hut’s market has been sliced up and distributed to its trendier, more nimble rivals. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to increase costs – which KPMG’s Mr Hawkley says is difficult at a time when household budgets are shrinking.
Nicolas Burquier, Pizza Hut’s managing director of international markets, said the buyout aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible”.
He said its immediate priority was to continue operating at the remaining 64 restaurants and 343 delivery sites and to support colleagues through the transition.
However, with substantial overheads associated with running its restaurants, the company may lack the resources to invest significantly in its delivery service, which Mr. Hawkley describes as “complex and partnering with existing delivery apps comes at a cost”.
He suggests, however, that reducing costs by exiting oversaturated towns and city centers could be a viable adaptation strategy.
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