Pizza shut: iconic chain to close 250 US locations
Yum! Brands targets underperforming restaurants as it conducts a strategic review for Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut plans to close 250 US restaurants in the first half of this year as its parent company considers a sale of the chain.
The Louisville, Kentucky-based company said in November it was conducting a formal review of options for Pizza Hut, which has struggled with outdated restaurants and growing competition.
The chain’s US same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 5 per cent last year, Yum! said.
Rival Domino’s, the world’s largest pizza company, has not yet released its full-year earnings, but its US same-store sales were up 2.7 per cent in the first nine months of last year.
Internationally, Pizza Hut’s results have been stronger. International same-store sales were up 1 per cent last year, with growth in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, Yum! said. China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market outside the US, accounting for 19 per cent of sales.