News

Yum! Brands selling Pizza Hut UK to franchisee

February 13, 2012

Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands is looking for a master franchisee to buy its underperforming Pizza Hut restaurants in the United Kingdom.

There are 380 restaurants in total in the country, and about 100 of them have struggled with sales.

The transaction, according to Business-Sale.com, will not include the chain's 320 delivery stations.

Yum! Brands has retained RCapital, a firm that specializes in turnarounds, and is hoping the sale leads to refurbishment and expansion of the Pizza Hut brand in the UK. The new operator will be required to pay a royalty fee to Yum! Brands.

Yum! gained full control of Pizza Hut UK in 2006. The chain's fourth quarter sales were down 2 percent.

This is in comparison to Domino's UK, which has turned in strong earnings for the past two-plus years. Domino's has found a strong online and mobile ordering presence in the market, while Pizza Hut has yet to launch any mobile or tablet platforms.

Meat lovers cease and desist

Meanwhile, D.C.'s Pizza in Elkhart, Ind., has received a letter from Pizza Hut asking owner Darrel Cornell to stop using the terms "pepperoni lovers" and "meat lovers" on its menu. Pizza Hut has held trademarks for both since the late 1980s, according to WNDU.

D.C.'s has 10 days to respond. Cornell believes he's been singled out, and said there are "half a dozen places" in Elkhart alone that have a "meat lovers" option, and "thousands" more throughout the country.

Nearly 40 people have reacted to the story on WNDU's website, many suggesting Cornell accept the trademark infringement and change the name of his pizzas.

"The purpose of trademarks is to protect intellectual property. No one is going to confuse a meat lovers from DC's with one from Pizza Hut, and they certainly aren't going to lose business to DC's. That said, apologize and change the name. Not worth the legal hassle," wrote John-Paul.

Another anonymous commenter wrote: "Trademarks exist for a reason. Just because you're small, and Pizza Hut is big, that does not give you the right to infringe their trademarks. They're not picking on you. They're simply protecting a trademark that rightfully belongs to them. You'd feel the same way if someone infringed YOUR trademarks. The size of the company is irrelevant."

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