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Scooters Pizza wants 15 new stores in 16 months

October 13, 2003

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DURBAN, South Africa -- Scooters Pizza will open its Stellenbosch branch later this month in a move that secures the three-year-old pizza company a national presence.

According to Business Day, the group also signed a R7.9 million (U.S. $1.13 million) loan agreement with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to assist potential franchisees in establishing outlets.

Since September 2000, Scooters has opened 46 stores and wants to open another 15 outlets over the next 16 months, the bulk of which would be in Western Cape.

Research on the South African pizza market found that the foodservice segment has grown 20 percent in the past five years. According to the report, the market currently is valued at R1.7 billion (U.S. $243.6 million) annually, compared to the country's hamburger market, which has grown 15 percent annually.

Scooters competes head-on with Debonair's Pizza in the delivery and takeout segment, but Scooters Managing Director Carlo Gonzaga did not believe the South African market was nearing saturation. He believes the brand has the potential to more than double its outlets.

There were also opportunities to expand into new areas, including office park developments and service station forecourts, he said. Current development has been limited to standalone full-service outlets as the group does not have a footprint in shopping centers.

Gonzaga said the IDC deal would broaden substantially the franchisee pool.

Prospective franchisees need 20 percent in cash and also require the same in collateral.

Internationally, Gonzaga said the group would open a second store in Botswana later this year, while it was investigating plans for a site in Nigeria. This follows the intention of expanding into four African countries by next December.