Pizza Hut

 Pizza Hut is the largest pizza restaurant company in the world in terms of both the number of outlets and the percentage of market share that it holds. A subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc., the company oversees more than 11,000 pizza restaurants and delivery outlets in 90 countries worldwide. Renting a small building at 503 South Bluff in downtown Wichita and purchasing secondhand equipment to make pizzas, the Carneys and Bender opened the first Pizza Hut restaurant; on opening night, they gave pizza away to encourage community interest. In the early 1960s Pizza Hut grew on the strength of aggressive marketing of the pizza restaurant idea. Two years later, the first Pizza Hut franchise was opened in Canada. This was followed by the establishment of the International Pizza Hut Franchise Holders Association (IPHFHA). It aimed at acquiring 40 percent of the company's franchise operations, or 120 stores, and adding them to the six outlets wholly owned by Pizza Hut.

 Pizza Hut's corporate strategy, arrived at after much consultation and boardroom debate, emerged in 1972. In 1970 Pizza Hut opened units in Munich, Germany, and Sydney, Australia. In 1971 Pizza Hut became the world's largest pizza chain, according to sales and number of restaurants--then just more than 1,000 in all. In 1973 Pizza Hut expanded further by opening outlets in Japan and Great Britain. The company's 2,000th restaurant was opened in Independence, Missouri. Advertising played an increasingly influential role at Pizza Hut at this time, broadening the chain's public profile.

 In 1977 Pizza Hut merged with PepsiCo, becoming a division of the global soft drink and food conglomerate. PepsiCo had clearly seen potential in Pizza Hut. The 1980s brought new competitors to Pizza Hut, all challenging its number one position in the pizza restaurant trade, then worth $15 billion in sales annually in the United States alone. To raise its profile, Pizza Hut introduced "Pan Pizza" in 1980 throughout its network. The success of new additions to Pizza Hut's menu was facilitated by the marketing resources provided by PepsiCo.

 For example, in 1983 Pizza Hut introduced "Personal Pan Pizza," offering customers a five-minute guarantee that their single-serving pizzas would arrive quickly and steaming hot. In 1984 Steven Reinemund was appointed president and chief executive officer of Pizza Hut. He oversaw a period of unprecedented growth for the pizza chain. In 1986 Pizza Hut opened its 5,000th franchise unit, in Dallas, Texas, and began its successful home delivery service. In 1990 Pizza Hut opened its first restaurant in Moscow. Russians' pizza of choice, "Moskva," a pie topped with sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon, and onion, became a favorite at the Moscow Pizza Hut. The Moscow location quickly established itself as Pizza Hut's highest volume unit in the world. Pizza Hut Delivery, the home delivery operation, provided $1.2 billion in sales alone, and overall Pizza Hut sales, added to those of PepsiCo subsidiaries Taco Bell and KFC (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken), gave the parent company more than $21 billion in sales that year on its restaurant and fast food side.

 Drive-through units were added for customers' convenience, and Pizza Hut Express units were being developed. Since that time, Pizza Hut positioned Express units in school cafeterias, sports arenas, office buildings, and major airports. The reward for better reading ability was free pizza at any Pizza Hut. In 1991 PepsiCo had restaurant outlets in 80 countries worldwide. Pizza Hut restaurants had spread to 90 countries by 1997.