Pizza H (formerly Pizza Hut in Russia)

History

2022

Name change in Russia

On July 12, 2022, it became known about the renaming of Pizza Hut restaurants in Russia. They started working under the signs "Pizza H," the usual red logo changed to a white circle with a new inscription. Such a rebranding was seen in St. Petersburg.

According to Delovoy Petersburg, the townspeople drew attention to the replacement of the usual logo at the institution on 96 Nevsky Prospekt. The press service of Pizza Hut explained to the publication that this is essentially a rebranding, and the menu and operating mode remained unchanged. In addition, old logos remained inside the restaurant. At the same time, the Russian site Pizza Hut by July 13, 2022 still retained the old design and continues to work.

Pizza Hut changed its name in Russia

Pizza Hut chain owner Yum! Brands announced the completion of the process of transferring ownership of Pizza Hut to a local operator on July 5, 2022, adding that the latter had begun the rebranding process. At the same time, the company notified about the sale of the local company of the KFC network, noting that at the end of this transaction it would completely leave the Russian market.

The new owner of the Pizza Hut chain in Russia is the Russian company Noi-M., one of the founders of which is Vladimir Mehrishvili, senior vice president of Rostik Group. A source Businessman"" in the restaurant market said that the sale of the chain was initiated by the owner of the brand due to the inefficiency of work in Russia.

R4S Group Commercial Director Irina Burenko, in a conversation with the newspaper, noted that the operating activities of almost all Pizza Hut establishments did not bring economic effect. According to her, the new owner managed to reduce the fixed part of the rental rate by 50% in the Moscow shopping center "Mart," owned by the R4S Group, with the expectation of bringing the pizzeria into plus business.

By July 2022, there are about 50 Pizza Hut restaurants and more than 1.1 thousand points of the KFC network in Russia, most of the establishments operate under franchises.^[1]

Russian business Pizza Hut sold

In early June 2022, it became known about the sale of the Russian business Pizza Hut. The owner of the corresponding franchise - the Polish company Amrest - transferred control over it to the Russian Noi-M. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Infoline Analytics CEO Mikhail Burmistrov believes that Noi-M could hardly pay more than 300 million rubles (the equipment of establishments and the assignment of rental rights for premises under pizzerias can cost so much), given that the Pizza Hut brand will be withdrawn from the Russian market.

Russian business Pizza Hut sold

If the Pizza Hut brand is recalled, then it will be difficult for the existing franchisees of the chain to find another partner, since all large pizzerias are managed from the United States and it is now risky to conclude contracts with them, said Franshiza.ru expert Anna Rozhdestvenskaya. According to her, the Russian DoDo network has almost all cities already occupied by existing partners. The network did not provide a comment.

According to the RBC Company service, Noi-M is registered in Moscow, its general director and one of the founders is Aleksei Chaika. The main share (80%) in the authorized capital of the company belongs to the senior vice president of Rostik Group (it owns the Rosinter group, which develops the IL Patio, Planet Sushi, T.G.I. Fridays and Costa Coffee networks in Russia) Vladimir Mehrishvili. The remaining 20% is equally divided between Chaika and Svetlana Beresneva (the general director of KorpEstate, also owned by Rostik Group). Rosinter told Kommersant that the deal had nothing to do with them. CorpEstate said they had no data on this agreement.

Amrest confirmed that they are no longer the operator of Pizza Hut restaurants in Russia, in Yum! Brands (the owner of the Pizza Hut brand) did not respond to the publication's request.^[2]

Unsuccessful attempt to sell business in Russia

In May 2022, it became known that the owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut franchise was unable to sell the business in the Russian Federation. The AmRest restaurant holding, founded in Poland, was unable to sell its Russian division, which manages 267 KFC and Pizza Hut institutions, to the VTB Capital investment fund.

The deal, discussed even before the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, fell through due to Western sanctions imposed on a potential buyer. Now the company is looking for a new contender for the business. Due to the crisis, the holding will have to offer a discount of 50%. But even in this case, AmRest will be difficult to find a buyer without the risk of falling under secondary US sanctions.

Notes