Pizza Express Rechristened San Marzano For Exclusivity

The UK-based Pizza Express chain today changed its name to "San Marzano" in India. The initiative is a part of the group's worldwide restructuring process to project itself as a pure Italian restaurant and also to distinguish itself from the other fast food chains including Pizza Hut, Pizza Corner and McDonalds already present in the country.

"The name has simultaneously been changed in most of the international markets including US, Poland and Spain except United Kingdom because the company has a strong brand equity in UK. San Marzano is a name of the Italian village from where Pizza Express sources its tomatoes used in pizza sauce and the initiative is aimed at pulling crowds who are interested in pure Italian food," Pizza Express international franchise coordinator Donald Mac Queen said.

The company also plans to extend its name to about 30 outlets across the country within the next 5-7 years.

"We are planning to open 30 restaurants across the country. New restaurants would come up in Mumbai and Pune by the end of July," Lombard Street (estates) director Alok Kumar Modi, the master franchisee of Pizza Express, said here. He, however, declined to divulge any investment figures. Mac Queen, however, said that Pizza Express intends on making huge investments, close to six-figure sterling investments, because of the huge potential for growth here.

Pizza Express has not given exclusive right to Lombard Street for expansion in the country and plans to expand through other franchisees as well. The company has chosen the way of both franchising and investment to fund the expansion plan. Lombard Street and Pizza Express would individually expand at other locations but all the outlets would have San Marzano brand name, Modi said.

While Mac Queen said though the company would obviously look at Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad to expand further, he added that the company would explore all possible venues to expand. The decision would depend on evaluation of the market and availability of the investment opportunities, he said.

Speaking on the worldwide growth experienced by Pizza Express, Mac Queen said that from being a Pound 30 million company about six years ago, the market capitalisation of the company touched Pound 560 million about 5-6 months back. The chain has about 300 outlets worldwide.