<ul><li>Pizza Hut announces its plan to enter several new cities by the end of 2021 to expand its presence in tier-2 and tier-3 cities alongside metros.</li><li>It also inaugurated its 500th store today. </li></ul>Pizza Hut today announced the landmark launch of its 500th store in the country and also shared that it has ambitious expansion plans to considerably increase their footprint in India in the next five years. Pizza Hut’s 500th store was inaugurated in Moga, Punjab by actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood. The company has been on a steady growth trajectory and plans to enter several new cities by the end of 2021 to expand its presence in Tier-II and Tier-III cities alongside metros. On the business front, Pizza Hut has been focusing on a delivery-centric, digital-first approach in keeping with its R.E.D strategy to be Relevant, Easy and Distinctive. The brand recently touched the highest delivery sales ever in India - this success was achieved on the back of a seamless digital ordering experience, industry best value deals and end-to-end contactless services which assured customers of maximum food safety and hygiene. Elated on the occasion, <keyword id="8565178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Merrill-Pereyra">Merrill Pereyra</keyword>, Managing Director, <keyword id="11738516" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="pizza-hut-indian-subcontinent">Pizza Hut Indian Subcontinent</keyword> said, “We are truly humbled and grateful for the unwavering love and trust of our customers and thank them for this momentous achievement. We also owe this success to our franchisee partners and the entire extended Pizza Hut family who work passionately and relentlessly every single day for the love of pizza. We are deeply invested in India and look forward to growing the brand aggressively in the next few years.” Pizza Hut opened its first store in 1996 in Bangalore, becoming the first international pizza chain to enter India. The brand has brought several product and service innovations to the country throughout its journey of 25 years and has been voted as the ‘Most Trusted Brand’ by consumers in independent surveys for over a decade in a row. Credited with bringing its iconic pan pizza to India, the brand has continually improved the recipe over the years and only uses freshly made dough every single day for a perfectly baked pizza crust that’s crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, 100% mozzarella cheese, the best quality toppings and a flavourful, lip-smacking herb-infused sauce. Focused on customer centric offerings, Pizza Hut has introduced a wide variety of innovative pizzas which are customised to suit the Indian palate like Tandoori Paneer, Veg Kebab Surprise, Chicken Tikka Supreme and many more. The brand has further elevated its pan pizzas by introducing scrumptious stuffed crust variants like Veg Kebab, Chicken Seekh Kebab and Cheese Maxx. With a motto to ensure ‘Trust in Every Bite’, Pizza Hut follows all regulatory protocols and guidelines issued by the government, WHO and FSSAI for maximum food hygiene and safety of customers. The pizzas are baked at 240 degrees which eliminates all viruses and packed in disinfected, tamper-proof boxes. Fresh, sanitized vegetables and FSSAI-licensed ingredients are used in all food preparations to ensure great quality and taste.

Pizza Hut plans to considerably increase its footprint in India in the next five years with a focus on Tier II & III cities

New Delhi, Jan 15 () Pizza Hut International, a division of US-based Yum! Brands Inc on Wednesday said it has appointed Merrill Pereyra as managing director of the Indian Subcontinent.
 In his new role, Pereyra will be responsible for leading Pizza Hut into the next phase of long-term profitable growth across Indian Subcontinent, the company said in a statement.
 He will oversee the growth and expansion of the brand's footprint across the subcontinent countries based out of the headquarters in Gurgaon, it added.
 "Pereyra brings with him over three decades of rich experience and leadership in the (Quick service restaurants) QSR sector. With his unique brand of leadership and compelling experience, we are confident he will strengthen our brand further in the region," Pizza Hut Asia Pacific Managing Director Unnat Varma said.
 With Merrill at the helm, Pizza Hut Indian Subcontinent plans to open over 100 new stores across the market in 2020.
 Pizza Hut has been in India for more than two decades. Currently, the brand has 547 stores in the Indian subcontinent of which 460 are located in India.
 The company also runs 81 fast casual dining (FCD) stores in the the country and aims to increase the share of such stores to 40 per cent of its real estate by 2022.
 Prior to his current role Pereyra led QSR Brands (M) Holdings, part of CVC Capital Partners, EPF and Johor Corporation which dominates Malaysia's rapidly expanding retail food industry as the executive director and CEO.
 He has also provided exciting, energetic and innovative leadership to large QSR brands including McDonald's Corporation, KFC and Pizza Hut Singapore, among others. MSS SHW
SHW

Merrill Pereyra named as Pizza Hut MD for Indian Subcontinent

<ul><li>Global brands like M&amp;S and <keyword id="3014364" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pepe-jeans-india" source="Orion">Pepe Jeans India</keyword> are focussing as much on tier 2, 3 cities as they are metros.</li><li>Small town Rajahs are just as well-informed and brand conscious as their metro counterparts, they say.</li><li>QSR players like Pizza Hut too see half of their growth from smaller cities, and are altering their offerings to deliver to the palettes. </li></ul>India’s charming smaller cities bring certain images to mind — like a samosa-wala sitting around the corner; and dusty market areas with barely-lit shops or most people commuting on two-wheelers. Think again. Bharat has gone high-end, and now most cities be it Baroda, Budaun, Indore, Nagpur or Udaipur — are where mall developers are crowding to. In with the trend are not just Indian brands but foreign brands want to go where they see ‘growth’. When it comes to store opening both fashion, cars or even fast food chains, they all want to grow across metros and smaller cities — on an almost equal footing. For luxury car brands, small is the new big. Companies like BMW, <keyword id="25952" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mercedes-benz" source="Orion">Mercedes-Benz</keyword>, <keyword id="75789" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lamborghini" source="Orion">Lamborghini</keyword>, and others are eyeing smaller towns and cities like Ludhiana, Kanpur, Surat, etc. to drive up their volume growth in India. By selling an average number of 40,000 units annually, luxury carmakers make up less than 2% of the entire passenger vehicle market in the country-as compared to 13% penetration in China and 10 per cent in the US. They are now hoping to drive up sales by penetrating deeper into the Tier-II and Tier-III markets in the country. According to top luxury players in India, non-metro cities could drive significant sales volumes owing to an emergence of young entrepreneurs from these places. Small towns are ‘Fashion forward’ <div type="image" title="pepe jeans" msid="105071304" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Manish Kapoor, MD and CEO of Pepe Jeans India &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> British retail major <keyword id="1295402" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="marks-spencers" source="Orion">Marks &amp; Spencers</keyword> which, recently opened its 100th store in India, is betting big on ‘thriving and vibrant Bharat. M&amp;S has opened a store each in Ranchi, and Kochi has just gotten its second store like Baroda. It’s also present in Surat, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati. "Even though growth in Tier 1 cities has not yet exhausted, Tier 2 cities are growing much faster. At present, 40 out of our 100 stores are in Tier 2 cities. Provided the right locations come up in these cities, we will look at more stores in these cities," Ritesh Mishra, MD of Marks and Spencer Reliance India told Business Insider India. Yet another UK based fashion retailer Pepe Jeans India also said that it plans to open around 30 new stores every year. Of that, a majority would be in smaller cities. “We have not covered many Tier 2 cities, and they also provide higher avenues to growth,” said Manish Kapoor, CEO &amp; MD of Pepe Jeans India told Business Insider India. Thanks to exposure to the internet, the small town consumers are just as fashion forward as their metro consumers. “Their exposure to brands, fashions and international styles is on par with the metro consumers,” said Kapoor. Online presence also helps these brands service many more pin codes across the country. Mishra agrees, and adds that there is not much of a difference between the consumers in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities except that the basket value in the smaller cities may be a tad lower. They also intend to reach more pin codes via e-commerce, taking their style and substance to all of India that wants it. For a long time, smaller cities have been smaller markets for large brands. But what’s changed in the last few years, the number of middle income households are changing. Their incomes are growing on-par too. According to consumer insights company Kantar, all-India urban average monthly household income has been growing at 8.4% for the last five years. In Tier 2 and tier 3 cities, it has been growing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%. More money to spend The discretionary wallet share of a smaller city consumer is also higher, argues Kapoor. “For example, take a person who earns ₹1 lakh per month in Bombay, he or she would spend ₹40,000-45,000 on rent and then some more on commuting and other essentials. Then take a person who earns ₹50,000 pm in Lucknow — all the aforesaid expenses will be under ₹25,000,” he explains. Moreover, the new generation of consumers – be it millennials or GenZs – are focussed on experiences, consumption and self-care. That’s bringing about a marked change in the traditional mindset of people — all manna for brands. “Earlier people would feel guilty of spending, now the new generation thinks — Why not? What else do we earn for?” sums up Kapoor, profiling the consumers they’re going after in smaller towns, who wouldn’t flinch before spending ₹5,000 on a pair of jeans. Value in growth <div type="image" title="pizza hut" msid="105094177" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Merrill Pereyra, Managing Director, Pizza Hut India Subcontinent&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> US major Pizza Hut India too is thinking on the same lines as its apparel counterparts. In the last two years, they went from around 400 restaurants to over 800 stores. And, half the stores as a part of its expansion strategy are in smaller cities. It expects 50% of its growth to come from newer markets i.e cities that intend to foray into through their franchises, Merrill Pereyra, MD of Pizza Hut India subcontinent told Business Insider India in an interview. Unlike their apparel counterparts, they are a tad more careful about their approach. Quick service restaurants (QSR) are more of a habit where even consumers with chunky wallets seek value. “We have to be strategic with the value we provide. We have offers like one plus one meals, My Box which is a meal for one. But we are also appealing to local tastes. One of our innovations is Dhabe Da <keyword id="4821660" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="keema-pizza" source="Orion">Keema Pizza</keyword>, the way a small town consumer would think is, we are used to it, let’s see how it tastes on a pizza whereas a big city consumer would see it as a fusion menu,” Pereyra explained. Be it fashion or food, the new-age small city customer is seeking the ‘premium’ route — that’s caught the eye of large international players who want to make their mark. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/wine-vs-tea-indias-consumption-trends-show-a-sharp-divergence/articleshow/104810168.cms">Wine vs Tea: India’s consumption trends show a sharp divergence</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/pvr-woos-netflix-n-chill-crowd-back-to-big-screens-with-its-passport/articleshow/104919450.cms">PVR woos Netflix n Chill crowd back to big screens with its Passport</a>

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Pizza Hut plans to considerably increase its footprint in India in the next five years with a focus on Tier II & III cities

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Merrill Pereyra named as Pizza Hut MD for Indian Subcontinent

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Foreign brands bet big on Bharat’s bulging wallets

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