Pizza chains outperform the overall restaurant industry

Pizza chains have something to celebrate. Despite competition from grocery stores and fast-casual pizza brands, chains are outperforming the overall restaurant industry as of late.

Pizza franchises averaged same-store sales growth of more than 6.4 percent in Q4 of 2014 and continue to advance. In 2015, Domino’s Pizza Inc. reported a 14.5 percent first-quarter sales increase – the best domestic result in the last 16 years.

Private pizza companies like Hungry Howie’s and Marco’s Pizza are also performing well. Hungry Howie’s CEO Steve Jackson reported same-store sales increases of 10 percent.

“It’s really a great time to be in the pizza business,” Jackson told Nation's Restaurant News.

The reason for the increasing success is the business model of pizza chains, which promotes convenience while enticing families and groups looking to spend less money.

“It’s a community food,” Bryon Stephens, Marco’s president and chief operating officer, told NRN. “Whether it’s family, friends or neighbors, we add to the value equation and have food everybody can share.”

Along with convenience and value, pizza chains were one of the first early adopters of technology to make ordering seamless and easy. Online ordering made pizza chain operations more efficient and customer friendly.