Pizza Pizza to Expand into Montreal

Pizza Pizza Limited, a leader in the quick-service restaurant industry, is ringing in 2008 by officially opening its first two restaurants in the Montreal market. The new restaurants, in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough of the city, are part of Pizza Pizza's concerted expansion in the province, which plans to open additional franchises, both on and off the island of Montreal, by year's end.

Pizza Pizza, the national leader in pizza delivery and slices sold, operates more than 610 points of sale across Canada. It has been servicing the province of Quebec for almost 20 years through its six traditional restaurants in the Gatineau and Abitibi regions.

Pizza Pizza has spent the past few years preparing for the arrival of these first Montreal restaurants by investing in consumer research, local partnerships, brand exposure and the opening of six non-traditional locations in the Montreal area. The company has established exclusive sponsorship and partnership agreements with the city's major professional sports teams - Canadiens, Alouettes and Impact - and operates outlets in educational
institutions, major venues, movie theatres, and at La Ronde amusement park, where Pizza Pizza's corporate colours adorn the famed "Spiral".

"Building local connections and relationships is important to us at Pizza Pizza and to our expansion plans," stated Pat Finelli, Chief Marketing Officer. "It allows us to gather feedback from the public and generate brand recognition while becoming a prominent player in the city and an integral part of the landscape, the communities and local festivities. People see that we are committed to investing in the marketplace and creating jobs. Making a quality product and working with everybody in the community is fundamental to our business and corporate culture."

An industry innovator in such areas as marketing, nutrition and technology, Pizza Pizza is also introducing some fresh and distinctive features to better serve the Montreal market, acting on the feedback it received from focus groups and other market research.

"From its inception in 1967, Pizza Pizza has always pledged to listen to its customers and be very proactive in terms of product and industry innovations," said Mr. Finelli, who has been with the company for almost 25 years. "This has allowed us to introduce a variety of menu choices and effectively respond to the needs of a growing and diversified customer base."

Pizza Pizza's evolution as a major force in the pizza industry has been marked by such innovations as the first one-number system for telephone orders, with a unique jingle to go with it, and the first computerized order-taking system. Among its many menu innovations are the introduction of healthier lifestyle options that include whole-wheat multi-grain dough and the elimination of industrially added trans fats from all menu items.

The Pizzas and Stuff blog is raising money for Special Olympics GB by bringing you the best pizza related stories from around the Web.

Please help us and make a donation by clicking on the widget on the top left or visiting http://www.justgiving.com/pizzasandstuff

If you really like us you can even download the widget to your own site and help us raise even more dough

Thank you