Papa John’s has announced that it plans to close about 300 locations through 2027, with the majority closing this year.
CNN reported the company disclosed the plans during its earnings call on Thursday, saying that the shops slated for closure are “not meeting brand expectations or lack a clear path to sustainable financial improvement, as well as locations where we can effectively transfer sales to a nearby restaurant,” the company’s chief financial officer and president of Papa John’s North American operations, Ravi Thanawala, said.
He added that they generate “negative four-wall” income and are more than 10 years old, USA Today reported.
Most of the locations that will close, about 200 of them, will close by the end of 2026, but the list of locations that will be shuttering was not released.
On top of the closures, Papa John’s plans to cut about 7% of its corporate workforce. About 700 people work at the corporate level, CNN reported.
The company said it had a 2% decrease in revenue from North American stores last year, according to USA Today. Globally, Papa John’s saw a 1% increase in sales overall, with international sales seeing a 5% increase.
Thanawala had been in charge of the international division at Papa John’s and the announcements he made about the domestic closures is similar to moves he made in the U.K, which increased sales 17% per location on average.
There are about 6,000 locations worldwide, with about 3,523 in the U.S., CBS News and USA Today reported.
Papa John’s is not the only pizza chain looking to shrink its footprint.
Pizza Hut is also planning on closing 250 underperforming U.S. locations in the first half of this year, according to USA Today.
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