Annual Industry Report Names Marco’s Pizza Franchise as Country’s No. 2 Fastest Growing Chain

Nation’s Restaurant News singles out beloved pizza franchise for its rapid growth and rising sales

Marco’s Pizza® franchise has been named the second-fastest-growing large chain in the country, according to industry leading publication Nation’s Restaurant News in its newly released 2015 Second 100 annual report. The proprietary census report showcases up-and-coming brands that resonate most with consumers and catch the attention of competitors.

The special report, which ranks restaurant brands Nos. 101-200 by U.S. systemwide sales and other data, focuses on a smaller, more growth-oriented universe than the magazine’s annual Top 100 report. According to the publication, the fastest-growing brands in the Second 100 “paint a picture of what’s next for the restaurant industry.”

With 41.3 percent year-over-year sales growth and unit volumes of $710,000, Marco’s Pizza has shown a 7.3 percent increase in estimated sales per unit and have added 141 new restaurants in the latest year — more than any other Second 100 chain, the NRN report states. By emphasizing value and Italian-style ingredients, including fresh dough made daily in every store, Marco’s Pizza offers our growing base of customers an alternative to large national pizza chains and boasts latest year sales of $337.7 million.

“This ranking validates the dedicated work of our franchisees, our management team, and all of our employees at the corporate and store level,” says Bryon Stephens, President and COO of Marco’s Pizza. “It all goes back to quality product, tremendous people, and a culture of accountability that resonates throughout our system. Those three things work together to drive system growth and sales.”

We are growing like wildfire nationwide

With a new location opening every other day, we are on track to open our 700th location before year’s end. Our high-quality Ah!thentic Italian food, strong leadership team, and accountability culture drive our unit-level profitability, which helps us grab market share and attract top talent among our franchisees and corporate staff.

Marco’s Pizza franchise continues to innovate. When financing became harder to obtain, our corporate staff made use of creative strategies like expediting loans to franchisees through personal guarantee insurance and by running our own loan-guarantee program, Marco’s Assurance, to keep new restaurants in the pipeline.

Now, we are embracing technology and experiencing an average of 17 percent to 20 percent of sales come through digital and online platforms, with newer locations seeing digital sales as high as 60 percent.

A trailblazing pizza franchise in a healthy pizza industry

The pizza segment, overall, is showing healthy growth, with publicly traded pizza chains seeing same-store growth greater than 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. In addition to snagging the second spot on the Second 100, we recently received high praise from Forbes. In the magazine’s annual list of the best and worst franchises in the nation, Marco’s Pizza ranked as the third-best franchise among chains with entry costs between $150,001 and $500,000.

As the only national franchise chain founded by a native Italian, we have made a name for ourselves in the bourgeoning pizza industry as experts in genuine Italian-style fare. We produce fresh, authentic, handmade pizza; we are well-known for our fresh dough made daily on site, a proprietary cheese blend that is fresh and never-frozen, and a secret pizza sauce recipe made with tomatoes developed especially for us.

Learn more about Marco’s Pizza

For in-depth details about the Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunity, download our free franchise report. You can also learn more by visiting our research pages.