News

Pizza Hut ends '04 atop U.S. industry heap

March 16, 2005

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — To no one's surprise, according to Yum! Brands' annual report, Pizza Hut ended 2004 as the pizza industry market leader in the United States with a 16 percent share of the quick-service pizza segment.

For full-year 2004, same-store sales rose 5 percent, transactions rose 2 percent, and the average guest check rose 3 percent.

As of last December, Pizza Hut had 7,500 units in the U.S., and 4,774 units in 85 foreign countries. The company operates approximately 23 percent of its total U.S. units and 21 percent of its international units.

Yum also disclosed that Pizza Hut is still dealing with a class-action lawsuit centered on the alleged misclassification of some of its restaurant general managers in California. In the case of Coldiron v. Pizza Hut, Inc., filed on Aug. 13, 2003, the plaintiff and other current and former Pizza Hut RGMs accuse the chain of improperly classifying employees as exempt under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act. The plaintiff is seeking unpaid overtime wages and penalties.

Last May, a U.S. District Court granted conditional certification of a nationwide class of RGM's under the FLSA claim, providing notice to prospective class members and an opportunity to join the class. Approximately 10 percent of the eligible class members have joined the litigation.

According to the filing, "Once class certification discovery is completed, Pizza Hut intends to challenge the propriety of conditional class certification." The company also said that due to the "inherent uncertainties of litigation, the outcome of this case cannot be predicted at this time."