PHD Romania, the home delivery division of restaurant chain Pizza Hut expects to feed 2 million euros in the fast food chain’s turnover and to open at least three new units in Bucharest, depending on the evolution of the real estate market, said Carmen Lupulet, marketing director of the company.
“We are pleased we can continue our expansion plans for this year. We haven’t yet decided on when the new units would be opened, but they will be located in uncovered areas. We are currently covering 20-30% of Bucharest. It depends however on the evolution of the real estate market and the whole market trend”, said Carmen Lupulet.
The first PHD unit in Romania was opened in December 2007, in Vitan, followed ten months later by another unit in Obor. The expansion continued with the opening of another one in December 2008, PHD Mihalache.
“We haven’t seen any deterioration in demand. Home delivery brands tend to grow even in recessionary times driven by a shift in consumption habits, from going out to a restaurant to eating at home. We had an 80% increase YoY in March this year”, said Dragos Zamirca, brand manager PHD Romania.
Among the products delivered by PHD are pizzas, salads, appetizers, deserts and lasagnas, different from the regular menu in Pizza Hut restaurants. Furthermore, within a month, the fast food company will add the new oven-baked pastas. The flour and cheese supplies come from France, England, Poland and other European countries.
PHD clients will be able to submit their orders through an online service available until the end of the year.
As Carmen Lupulet said, the home delivery market is still young. “It is a relatively new service; many people haven’t yet turned to it. It’s even room for other big players. I don’t think the crisis is set to face different challenges in crisis. There are challenges every day – traffic jam
