Pizza Hut Slaps Down Papa John's Claim that NFL National Anthem Protests Hurt Sales

Fortune Magazine ^ | 10/31/2017 | Chris Morris

[scooby321]

A day after Papa John’s CEO claimed that player protests in the NFL were responsible for lower sales at the chain, the man in charge of Pizza Hut says that’s ridiculous.

“We’re not seeing impact on any of that on our business,” Greg Creed, CEO of Yum Brands—parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and other chains—said in a call with investors on Thursday. Yum Brands posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst forecasts, due in part to Pizza Hut’s improved performance.

[pangaea6]

I like papa johns better than hut but I ate pizza hut last night bc of papa johns affiliation with nfl. Pizza hut ducked so now I’m gonna go back to dominoes or an expensive indie. No more papa til they drop nfl

[Newbomb Turk]

There is a gas station in my town that has better pizza that either Pizza Hut or Papa Johns at half the price. Expect double the topping too.

[eyedigress]

I was close. Some weenie back in 84 stole my Autoshack hat.
Thanks for the clarification.

[bigdaddy45]

Because their profits are up? And the drop in viewership of NFL games hasn’t hurt their business? For that you’re not going to Pizza Hut anymore? I assume there’s logic in there somewhere, but I can’t see it.

[eyedigress]

I probably had a conversation 35 years ago on why Autozone should have gone with Autohut but they seemed to have survived.

Floyd moment. ;)

[Sybeck1]

If interested Pizza Hut’s dough comes flat out of the box. Papa John’s is 100% hand tossef

[jonrick46]

In the ‘90s, they had a better tasting pizza with a succulent sauce and mozzarella that oozed in white strings when you pulled the wedge away from the pie. I would go there for lunch and order those sizzling pan pizzas that came in a cast iron pan. They were priced, as I remember, at $5 and perfectly portioned for lunch. Those were the days.

Now the sauce is a bland, tasteless sauce. Gone are the garlic overtones and the distinct Italian seasoning. Gone is the salad bar that made those pan pizzas into dinner. No longer do you find those spacious dining areas where you could take the whole family. Pizza Hut became a small room with a order counter. You might be lucky to have a bench to sit on while you waited for your pizza. Otherwise, you walk back to your car and wait 15 minutes.

I just saw a Pizza Hut crammed into the back of a gas station. This is reducing overhead for maximum profit.

I describe this to show how far pathetic Pizza Hut has fallen.

If the Seahawks win a game, Papa Johns will sell their on line pizza orders for half price on Tuesday. I wonder if they have had a decline in these orders?

[Kenny Bania]

LOL, ALL mass-market delivery pizza sucks (including Papa Johns). Find an independent store and order. Every town has one.

[TTFlyer]

Papa John’s pizza is 10 times better than Pizza Hut. Little expensive though.

[Rebelbase]

Trust me, I’m always on the look out for a good, independent pie.

OTOH my girlfriend is stuck in a 1970’s time warp when Pizza Hut was the only game in town.

[Kenny Bania]

I get it. The thing is, delivery pizza is convenient. Problem is, with food, convenience does usually doesn’t equal quality. So I just go with whoever has the best deal at the time.

[smokingfrog]

Here are the top pizza chains, based on gross sales in 2014.

Pizza Hut - $12,900,000,000. ...
Domino’s Pizza - $8,000,000,000. ...
Papa John’s Pizza - $3,000,000,000. ...
Little Caesars Pizza - $2,900,000,000. ...
Papa Murphy’s - $785,630,000. ...
California Pizza Kitchen - $739,000,000. ...
Sbarro - $600,000,000.

[ro_dreaming]

Papa Murphy’s is pretty good, but you have to bake it yourself.

[Rebelbase]

My favorite nowadays, not technically pizza but close:

+ + + =

[hardspunned]

I bought my first papa johns yesterday. Guess who I used to buy from. That’s about 20 pizzas a year Pizza Hut has lost to papa johns.

[Ouderkirk]

I’m not a fan of Papa John’s pizza.

Support or not for the NFL I’m not likely to buy their product.

That said, I would still bet that Papa John’s is losing business because of the number of people who are not watching the NFL and thus not ordering pizzas from them.

I don’t believe Pizza Hut’s claims. Their pizza is worse than Papa Johns if that is even possible.

[Viking2002]

Mmmmmm.....stromboli.

[Viking2002]

Hunt Bros. pizza?

[GailA]

Looks like they are pulling ads
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-01/papa-johns-pulls-nfl-ads-due-negative-consumer-sentiment

But that is not their only problem, management at the local corporate level stinks.

My Eldest manages 1 of the small berg just delivery one’s, they can’t keep employees as pay checks bounce, can’t get broken equipment fixed, he’s shut the store down more than once this year when power went out from blown main fuses that have to have a contractor replace, and can’t get approval fast enough. He works 6 days a week, no way to go hunt for another job, not that they are easy to find in small bergs at Management level. And the DUMB health inspector is probably to lazy or being paid off to close bad restaurants down. Mexican place 2 doors down dumps their used grease on the ground, which is illegal, bio-hazard, and pollution.