Pizza Pizza

This article is about the Canadian restaurant franchise. For the American restaurant franchise which uses "Pizza! Pizza!" as its slogan, see Little Caesars.
"Chicken Chicken" redirects here. For the novella, see Chicken Chicken (novella).
Pizza Pizza Limited
Private, with publicly traded royalty income fund
Traded as TSX: PZA
Industry Fast food restaurants
Genre QSR
Founded 1967
Founder Michael Overs
Headquarters 500 Kipling Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M8Z 5E5
Products Pizza, Pasta, Wings, other fast food
Website www.pizzapizza.ca

Pizza Pizza Limited is a franchised Canadian pizza fast-food restaurant, with its headquarters in Etobicoke, Toronto.[1] Its restaurants are mainly in the province of Ontario. Other locations operate in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and in western Canada. Franchises in western Canada are mostly run through Alberta-based subsidiary Pizza 73, and in non-traditional locations such as university campuses and movie theatres throughout Canada. It has over 500 locations, including over 150 non-traditional locations.

History

The chain was founded by Michael Overs, who opened the first location on December 31, 1967, at the corner of Wellesley and Parliament Streets in Toronto. He owned the restaurant until his death in 2010. It expanded throughout the Toronto area in the 1970s, and throughout the rest of Ontario throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

The chain opened its first locations in Quebec in the mid-1980s, but withdrew after a few years. It returned to the province, in Gatineau, in March 2007. Locations were opened in the Montreal area in late 2007 in the boroughs of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

In 2012, Pizza Pizza accounted for 21% of the market in Quebec by revenue, while competitors Domino's and Pizza Hut held 30% and 23% respectively. Double Pizza, which held 26% of the market in 2006 before Pizza Pizza entered the market, had been reduced to 15%.

Pizza Pizza began to expand significantly outside Ontario during the 2000s. In its 2005 initial public offering filings, the chain announced it would consider expansion in western Canada, potentially including purchasing existing local chains. This led to a June 2007 agreement to purchase Alberta-based Pizza 73. As well, in October 2006, the company announced it would expand in the Quebec market, beginning with sponsorship of the Montreal Canadiens.[2] The chain expanded to the British Columbia Lower Mainland in 2009, however all locations closed[3] (Pizza 73 already had a location in Prince George in the B.C. Interior), and soon after added locations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Pizza Pizza opened its first store in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June 2010.

In 2005, the Pizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund (TSX: PZA.UN), an open-ended trust, completed its initial public offering. Pizza Pizza Limited, which remains privately held by Overs' son-in-law, Paul Goddard, pays the fund 6% of the sales of its restaurants in Canada.

Major southern Ontario competitors include Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Little Caesars, Gino's Pizza, 241 Pizza, Double Double Pizza, and Pizza Nova. Two other major Canadian chains, Greco and Panago, which have a presence similar to Pizza Pizza in the Atlantic and Western Canada respectively, have entered the Ontario market. In Montreal, Quebec, its competitors are Mikes and Double Pizza.

In 2009, Coca-Cola products replaced Pepsi products at Pizza Pizza.

The company's founder, Michael Overs, died on March 31, 2010. His son-in-law, Paul Goddard, was appointed CEO.

Marketing techniques

Pizza Pizza uses the self-explanatory slogans "Hot & Fresh" and "Ontario's #1 Pizza!" but is best known for the chain's phone number, XXX–1111. A distinctive jingle "nine six seven, eleven eleven, call Pizza Pizza, hey hey hey" played extensively on Toronto commercial radio in the 1970s. The company claims that its early adoption of the centralized single-number ordering system, and its subsequent use and heavy promotion of this rhyming phone number, helped the chain to expand through Ontario.

A central local number is used for all locations until it becomes a long distance call. In other cities, local numbers are requested with the "11-11" suffix to match the standard jingle in the chain's radio advertisements (Belleville, for instance, is +1-613-967-1111). Pizza Pizza has registered "967–1111" and variants as trademarks.[4]

The strategy of deploying one central, memorable and heavily-advertised local number for all locations in a city's local calling area has now been adopted by some of Pizza Pizza's largest competitors.

Besides its jingle, Pizza Pizza has laid claim [5] to being first – or among the first – to:

"Pizza! Pizza!" is also recognized, primarily in the United States, as the slogan for another pizza franchise, Little Caesars. The companies are not affiliated, and compete in many areas of Canada. Little Caesars has been prohibited from using it as a slogan in Canada, as part of Pizza Pizza's court defence of the trademark and the great possibility of confusion between the two firms. Pizza Pizza sold rights to the use of its "Pizza Pizza" radio jingle and slogan to Little Caesars in 1979.

A popular promotion at NHL games resulted in the Ottawa Senators line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson (before Heatley's departure in September 2009, to play for the San Jose Sharks) being called the "Pizza Line" as they often contributed to scoring the five goals necessary in a Senators win to redeem ticket stubs at a Pizza Pizza for a free slice. Subsequently, the promotion was raised to six goals in a game.

Pizza Pizza University

Pizza Pizza University is a training centre for franchisees located in south Etobicoke.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "“FIAT” ONLINE CONTEST RULES & REGULATIONS." Pizza Pizza. Retrieved on December 5, 2012. "Pizza Pizza, 500 Kipling Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5E5"
  2. ↑ It's game on for Pizza Pizza expansion in Quebec market, Pizza Pizza press release, October 11, 2006
  3. ↑ Pizza Pizza press release, January 28, 2009
  4. ↑ "967–1111" is registered in Canada under registration number TMA428709.
  5. ↑ Pizza Pizza. Pizzapizza.ca. Retrieved on 2012-02-09.
  6. ↑ citation needed
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