The American Little Caesars, the world’s third-largest pizzeria chain, plans to open more than 50 restaurants in Spain in the next three to five years, as explained to elEconomista by the company’s vice president, Andrés de Robina, at the inauguration of its second location in Barcelona.
The Illich family company chose Spain, and specifically Madrid, to begin its landing in Europe, shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic. It currently has five stores in the state capital and two in Barcelona, and this year it plans to make the leap to Portugal and the United Kingdom, in addition to Russia and Ecuador, through its growth model through franchises.
Why was Spain chosen as the first European country and why in 2019?
We think it is a very interesting market that has a great love for pizza. Spain has one of the highest estimated growth rates in the quick service market and is known for its love of culinary variety, so it was naturally a great location for Little Caesars. In addition, we think that it is a great entry point in the European market since we seek to take the brand throughout Europe. What happened in 2019 is because we have expanded globally in other regions, and in 2019 we were able to complete the needs for expansion in Spain, which was mainly to find business partners.
How does your franchise model work?
In large countries like Spain, we divide it into different master franchises, so that each of them can develop the area that has been assigned to them. In other smaller countries we manage the business with a single franchise. At the moment, in Spain we have the franchisee from Madrid, the one from Catalonia, and we are looking for it in Valencia.
How much investment does a Little Caesars location require and how many employees does it need?
Each store requires about US$335,000 to start. In Spain, we are looking for area developers who can commit to growing a region, so investors must have $1.5 million in liquid assets and commit to an aggressive development schedule.
Who and where makes the pizzas and where do the ingredients come from?
The dough we use is always fresh and prepared at the moment in our establishments, as well as the sauce, prepared with natural tomatoes. Our cheeses and flours are obtained in Spain, and are produced fresh.
How many stores does Little Caesars currently have in the world?
We have a presence in 27 countries on 5 continents.
What growth plans does the company have for Spain?
In Spain we have an ambitious expansion plan in which we hope to open more than 50 restaurants in the next three to five years. And in the case of Catalonia, the Interpizzaco franchisee plans to open some 50 stores in the next 10 years, with eight employees per store.
And in the rest of the world?
Little Caesars has ambitious plans to further expand the brand around the world and is actively seeking franchisees. In 2022 we will open restaurants in several new markets, such as Russia, Portugal, Ecuador and the United Kingdom.
Do you plan to expand the offer of pizza tastes or make one specific for Spain?
We have pizzas such as bbQ, York ham, four deluxe cheeses, margarita and Mediterranean, and as a complement we offer cheese breadsticks.
With your pizza ready-made and ready-to-pick method in 30 seconds, how do you manage food waste from unsold pizzas at the end of the day?
We are making calculations according to our traffic in the store and this gives us the exact figure of how much we must produce and in the time that we must produce it. We have no food waste.
How has the pandemic affected the business?
Around the world, the pizza industry has grown significantly during the pandemic, and that’s true for Little Caesars as well. In 2021 we experienced record sales around the world, and we also grew territorially. Of course, depending on the country there were different restrictions and experiences with Covid, and our business certainly felt it also where there were curfews and forced closures, but overall our business is strong. This is even more evident in the case of our growth in Spain, which initially opened just eight weeks before Covid in 2020.
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