Pizza Hut to Close
500 Dine-in Locations.
Yum! Brands president David W. Gibbs made
the announcement during an earnings call to
discuss second-quarter results on August 1.
According to Gibbs, the chain will focus
on its delivery and carryout options.
We are leaning in to accelerate the transition of
our Pizza Hut U.S. asset base to truly modern
delivery/carryout assets…This will ultimately
strengthen the Pizza Hut business in the U.S.
and set it up for a faster long-term growth, David W. Gibbs, via ‘Food Business News’.
In the United States, there are approximately
6,100 dine-in restaurants and 1,350 express units. .
The number of total U.S. stores is expected
to drop to as low as 7,000 in the next 24 months.
“Underperforming” dine-ins with “lower volume”
are the most likely to face closure and later be
restructured to fit the delivery/carryout model.
It’s hard to estimate how soon the timing
of when a store will close and then when
the replaced unit will open…There will be
gaps on some of those, but certainly, our
goal is to try to minimize those gaps, David W. Gibbs, via ‘Food Business News’.