Pizza Hut — which has repositioned itself as a casual dining restaurant chain, moving away from its earlier image of a fast food or a QSR (quick service restaurant) chain, — will now expand through larger formats. Sandeep Kataria, Chief Marketing Officer, Yum! Restaurants, said that all recent stores and future outlets of Pizza Hut would be at least 50 per cent larger. “We now have 3,000-sq.ft stores compared with our older stores that are 2,000 sq.ft,” said Kataria.
Delhi-based Devyani International India runs the Yum! Restaurants-owned Pizza Hut in India and has 170 outlets of the food retailing brand across the country. The focus for Yum! Restaurants in India is on expanding Pizza Hut through two formats: home delivery outlets and casual dining formats, said Mr Kataria. It plans 300 Pizza Hut Delivery outlets and 150 Pizza Hut Restaurants by 2015.
Pizza Hut in India started focussing on transforming itself into a casual dining format three years ago. It started by increasing its menu offerings with pastas, salads, desserts and starters. “This is the way Pizza Hut is changing all over the world,” said Kataria. The food retailing chain has also partnered with Four Seasons Wines to serve beer and wine in select outlets.
Earlier reports have indicated that pizzas contribute less than 50 per cent to the food retailing chain’s sales in India now and new menu items such as pastas, salads, soups, desserts and beverages contribute more than half of the billing.
In the last few months, Pizza Hut is also positioning itself as an ‘affordable’ dining restaurant with the ‘Weekday Special,’ targeted at students, offering a three-course meal for Rs 99.
Source : The Hindu Business Line
