300 stores to be closed

NPC International is the largest Pizza Hut franchisee in the USA. The company currently operates 1,227 of the brand's restaurants in its home market, which represents approximately 20 percent of the Pizza Hut restaurants in the country. Now the portfolio is apparently to be streamlined.

Due to the impact of the Corona Pandemic, NPC International has announced plans to close approximately 300 Pizza Hut restaurants in the US. The affected locations are mainly those that have not established a supply business and have generally had a low level of permitting in the past. According to a statement from NPC International, among other things "This move offers tremendous benefits to NPC and its stakeholders by positioning NPC's Pizza Hut business to drive operational excellence and enable new developments through a streamlined portfolio". If possible, all employees of closed locations will be transferred to other Pizza Hut restaurants.

Franchiser NPC International operates a total of around 1,600 restaurants in the USA. In addition to Pizza Hut, Wendy's is part of the company's portfolio. Pizza Hut is part of the quick service group Yum! Brands, which reported a system-wide decline in sales of 3 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Pizza Hut is considered a problem child and even had to report a Sales decline of 9 percent ...withstand. Already last year, before Corona, the closure of Pizza Hut restaurants in the USA was discussed. There are currently over 7,000 Pizza Hut locations in the USA. About 1,350 of these units are considered express restaurants. "We have many locations that were built in the right place 30 or 40 years ago," the company said at the time. "But these locations no longer meet modern delivery requirements. "