“For Bucharest, there are areas we want to be in, but we are waiting for the market, we want to see how it moves. It is much easier to negotiate [a location] in a mall and get a better price,” the company’s Brand Manager, Ovidiu Albu, told Business Standard. “I can say that the price per square meter in locations we are interested in is some 4-5 times higher than in a mall. However, this depends on the area,” he added.
For 2009, the company will aim to increase turnover by 10 percent due to expansion, in spite of the financial crisis. “Whatever happens next year, we are maintaining our expansion strategy,” Albu said.
Pizza Hut currently has 13 locations in Romania, of which six in the capital. “Bucharest can definitely take two-three restaurants, but we do not have anything precise at the moment, no contract signed, and we are looking for partners. Countrywide, we are trying to make our current restaurants as profitable as possible and, depending on opportunities, we will also expand there,” Albu said.
The investment in a Pizza Hut restaurant amounts to €400,000-500,000. The company estimates €12 million worth of business in 2008, compared to €10 million in 2007.
