Online Sales Prove to Be A Winner for Papa John's UK

Recent sales figures for Papa John's pizza suggest that when it comes to ordering pizza the dot-com bubble is still going strong.

The pizza company, famous for its 'Better Ingredients, Better Pizza' promise, saw its online weekly sales figures top £100,000 for the first time in May - marking a steady increase since the launch of online ordering two years ago.

The total for online sales now stands at over £6.5million, with the record sales figure illustrating a staggering 178 percent increase from the weekly average in 2006.

Simon Wallis, director of marketing, said: "We are delighted to have broken the £100,000 mark for the first time. The growth rate of our online trade over the last two years has been phenomenal.

"At the moment, our online sales currently average over 22 percent of total sales, a figure we expect to continue to rise as more and more customers look to the benefits and ease of ordering online.

"We know that as a society we are becoming more internet savvy and this is becoming clearly visible in our figures. In 2006 our total online sales were less than £2million, this year we will be looking to break the £5million barrier.

"This growth online reflects the growth of Papa John's as we continue to expand across the UK.

Already 2008 has seen seven stores open in the first quarter with another eight planned by June, as we look to grow our number of stores by 25 percent this year."

Papa John's recent figures in the UK echo those experienced by the company on the other side of the Atlantic.

In the US, the first week in May saw the company break the $1billion mark for total online sales.

Actor Arrested in Pizza Shop Hold-Up

A Utah teenager known for acting roles in Disney's "High School Musical" and as a quirky medieval warrior in anti-tobacco television commercials has been arrested on suspicion of robbing a Holladay pizza shop at gunpoint.

Read on...

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

Talkaboutability - or how to generate free publicity for your pizza business

Tariq Khan bought himself a funky car for his Domino's Pizza Franchise in Waltham!

Read the story here

Free Pizza - If You Can Eat It!

Are you up for a pizza challenge?

The Pizza Haus on East McCarty Street in Jefferson City features a promotion for the most daring of eaters.

For $30, any brave patron of the restaurant can purchase “The Haus,” an 18x18-inch pizza and a drink. If the eater can finish off the entire pizza within one hour, their meal is "on the haus".

And they'll be the first to be immortalized on the Pizza Haus Hall of Fame, complete with a photo. As an extra incentive, a winner takes a pot of money, to which each entrant contributes $5.

But there's several catches.

First, pizzas must have three meats of the eater's choosing.

Second, if eaters get sick, they are disqualified and must clean up their own mess.

And third, a failed attempt will also get your mug on the pizza joint's “Wall of Shame,” which currently features 25 losing eaters.

Restaurant owner Jason VanLoo bought the business 13 months ago.

VanLoo said he and a friend thought of the promotion while sitting in a booth at the restaurant before VanLoo had even purchased it.

“We were just sitting there,” VanLoo said. “We just wanted to know, ‘What can we do to get people in here?'

”VanLoo said all of the attempts so far have been from men, both young and old. “I'd love to see a girl do it,” VanLoo said.

VanLoo said a number of people have asked about the competition.

Others, he said, come by and purchase the pizza, which is an item on the regular menu, and test the waters before trying to eat the whole thing as part of the competition.

Some of those are scared off on their first try.“We've gotten to the point where everyone's scared of it,” VanLoo said. “It's a lot of food.”

The competition started out strong when VanLoo first began it just over a year ago, but VanLoo said participation has dwindled.

VanLoo attributes this to the size of the pizza, which is nearly the size of the restaurant's tables.

Those who have the opportunity to watch someone endeavor the challenge enjoy the entertainment almost as much as VanLoo and his employees do.

“Everyone kind of gawks just to see,” VanLoo said.

Often other diners in the restaurant will give competitors a pep-talk beforehand, or will offer support during the test. The eaters usually have something to say, too.“A lot of what I hear is ‘Oh, when I was younger I could have done it. Ten years ago this would have been easy,'” VanLoo said.

So far no one has made the “Wall of Fame” and actually finished the pizza.

The closest attempt was by a local fire fighter who ate the entire pizza except for four pieces, a tiny portion compared to how much he was able to finish.“I really think it might take a professional eater to do it,” VanLoo said.

VanLoo has yet to try the challenge himself, but said that if he were to try, he would order a pizza with pepperoni, Canadian bacon and sausage.

He said that competition is “all mental” and that he is excited to see someone do it - just not himself.

“I'm not crazy enough to try it,” VanLoo laughed.

The most recent attempt at the competition was April 19, when Mike Lewis finished just over half of the enormous pie.

“I was a little disappointed - I thought I could get a little farther,” Lewis said.

This venture was Lewis's second time to try the feat.

The first time he got further, leaving just two rows of pizza left.“I think it's pretty much impossible.”

After finishing as much as he could, Lewis could only describe how he felt as “Miserable. Just miserable. Really full.”

Customers are welcome to try the challenge any day Pizza Haus is open -- no appointment necessary

Domino's Pizza Celebrates 25th Anniversary in Canada

Domino's Pizza, the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, this month celebrates its 25th anniversary in Canada and Mike Schlater, who opened the first Domino's Pizza store outside the United States on May 12, 1983, is celebrating his homecoming after recently being named president of the Master Franchise.

Today (Monday), Domino's Pizza stores throughout Canada will be donating $2.50 per order to local charities in celebration of the 25th anniversary.

Founded in 1960 in the U.S. college town of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Domino's Pizza grew slowly but steadily throughout the United States in its first 20 years, but it was a pioneering young entrepreneur who saw the potential to deliver pizza to hungry customers in Canada.

Mike Schlater, originally from Ohio, opened his first store in Winnipeg, thus turning Domino's Pizza into an international enterprise, which today has more than 8,600 stores in more than 55 countries.

In 2008, Domino's Pizza of Canada Ltd. is a system comprised of 140 individual franchise owners, who operate a combined 280 stores. Domino's Pizza has a presence in every province, and two of the three territories. The northern-most store in the Western Hemisphere is in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories. Delivery personnel there can often be seen making deliveries via snowmobile when the weather dictates.

The store that lays claim to being the "most remote" Domino's Pizza store in Canada is in Whitehorse,Yukon. Schlater, who operated stores in Canada for several years before becoming a multi-store franchisee with stores across the U.S., recently returned to Canada after being named President of Domino's Pizza Canada Ltd., which is now based in Leamington, Ontario.

"I feel like I've come full circle," said Schlater. "It's hard to believe that 25 years ago, I was just opening that first store in Winnipeg and now, I've got the pleasure of leading this great company into the next quarter century. We've had our ups and downs over the years, but the strength of our system is in our business model and in our franchisees.

I see great things in store for us." Schlater noted that Domino's Pizza is looking to build momentum by opening at least 75 stores within the next five years, with the goal of having at least 350 Domino's Pizza stores operating by the end of 2013, the year in which Domino's Pizza of Canada will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Domino's Pizza CMO Makes Abrupt Exit

Domino's top marketing executive, Ken Calwell, is leaving the company after nearly seven years on the job.

The chain's president, Patrick Doyle, will be taking over the position on an interim basis.

"We want to thank Ken for everything he has done for Domino's Pizza," David A. Brandon, the fast-feeder's CEO, said in a statement. "This included five years of his contributing to our 12-year string without a negative same-store sales comparison. We wish Ken and his family the very best in their future endeavors, and consider them great friends of Domino's Pizza."

Mr Doyle will oversee the search for a new CMO, which the company said is already under way.

An executive familiar with the matter said Mr. Calwell's departure was abrupt and unexpected.

While the chain's worldwide same-store sales have been positive, the domestic comparisons haven't been as strong. Domino's first-quarter same-store sales were down in the U.S. 2.4% at company-owned stores and down 5.5% at franchisee-owned stores.

The disappointing performance follows a shift in the chain's creative account, which moved to Crispin Porter & Bogusky in September. Crispin developed the chain's "You Got 30 Minutes" campaign. Domino's decision resulted in some controversy because the Miami agency also has the Burger King business.

The two companies have a close relationship, however. Domino's CEO, Mr. Brandon, is a member of the Burger King board, and the companies share sponsorship of a Nascar team.

Burger King's marketing efforts, meanwhile, have been extraordinarily successful. The company has credited Crispin's "Whopper Freakout" campaign with its industry-leading same-store sales.

Pizza Hut To Close Kansas Call Centre

Pizza Hut Inc. will close its Overland Park, Kan. call center June 30 and lay off 180 employees, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

The company is in the process of outsourcing all call-center operations for its company-owned locations, spokesman Chris Fuller said.

Pizza Hut will try to find other jobs for the laid-off workers within and outside the company, he said.

Pizza Hut has almost 6,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 4,000 restaurants in 100 other countries.