Swot Analysis Papa John's Pizza

Strengths

Papa John's Pizza restaurant franchise was first established in 1983 by “Papa” John Schattner in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Schattner basically knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father's tavern, sold his Camaro to purchase used pizza making equipment, and started selling pizza's to the tavern's customers from the converted closet space. Since that time, Papa John's has skyrocketed from a one man operation to the third largest pizza chain in the world. As of December 2013, Papa John's had 4600 locations (3200 in the United States and the remainder spread out over 34 countries) and a reported worldwide revenue of 1.439 billion dollars. Papa John's massive growth throughout the years as well as it's positioning as a household name, make it a prime candidate for a thorough SWOT Analysis. SWOT Analysis is used to assess a company's strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to a multitude of market opportunities as well as external threats.

In examining this company's internal strengths, the most apparent one is its product differentiation strategy by way of creating a high quality pizza with high quality ingredients. Papa John's has implemented a high standard of quality control in conjunction with a strict adherence to the usage of fresh ingredients and dough made from scratch (not from concentrate or with any fillers). This kind of quality consistency has resulted in the growth and maintenance of customer loyalty and trust. It has also resulted in lower labor costs. Many of Papa John's direct competitors do not have a central quality control facility, nor do they have the kinds of standards and regulations on quality control, therefore this company stands out among its competitors as far as quality assurance is concerned.

Papa John’s has been very successful in its implementation of innovative marketing strategies. In 2013, PJ’s had become the most identifiable NFL sponsor. Running its commercials and inserting itself in the advertising slots of the games worked in its favor as far as brand recognition and visibility are concerned. 62% of fans sited Papa John’s as the NFL’s official pizza. The pizza maker gained 13% points in peoples overall awareness of the brand. Their sales from 2013 to 2014 were their best yet (2015 excluded from this analysis). I cannot help but think that there is a direct correlation between their distinctive competence with the NFL advertising and their sales/customer satisfaction ratings.

Papa John’s spearheaded the online food ordering aspect of the quick serve pizza industry with fulfilling its first online order in 1997. The official rollout of that system occurred a few years later. In subsequent years (2007 to 2014) this online ordering system had been refined and advance to keep up with the latest technological advances. Online ordering apps for mobile devices have resulted in about 50% of all customer orders being fulfilled online.

Another internal strength that Papa John’s is in its training and development programs for its employees. PJ’s sees the correlation between employee performance and the profits that resulted from franchise owned as well as company owned units. Therefore, training centers have been set up all across the country to help employees learn and enhance their skillset in terms of running a PJ’s franchise and all aspects of making the best pizza and upholding that consistent top-notch customer service that this chain is known for. These development programs are streamlined and uniform. All employees receive the same information and the same types of training. This is done to ensure consistency all across the board. Customers have come to expect a certain level of service and want the same experience at every Papa John’s they frequent, regardless of region.

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