Papa John’s International, Inc., in partnership with its franchise partner PJ Western Group, today announced its expansion into Germany, with plans to open 250 restaurants in the German market over the next seven years. PJ Western Group, one of Papa John’s largest global franchisees in Central and Eastern Europe, has opened the first seven Papa John’s in Magdeburg and Leipzig and plans to open another six stores in Halle and Merseburg by the end of the summer.
“We are excited to expand our business farther west into the heart of Europe,” says Christopher Wynne, CEO and founder of the PJ Western Group, which currently operates 200 Papa John’s restaurants, in addition to ten dough production plants in Europe and Asia. “We are excited to bring great pizza and innovation to the German pizza market.”
To accelerate this expansion into Germany, PJ Western is looking for new franchisees to join the Papa John’s family.
“More people around the world are being introduced to the Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. promise of Papa John’s, thanks to the work of our partners like PJ Western Group,” says Jack Swaysland, Chief Operating Officer, International at Papa John’s. “This expansion into Germany follows a record year of sales and growth that has positioned Papa John’s to further accelerate development in international markets. We are excited to expand our partnership with PJ Western. Chris’ team has proven over and over again its ability to successfully develop new markets.”
In May 2019, PJ Germany, together with PJ Western, acquired 13 existing locations of another pizza restaurant with plans to convert each site into a Papa John’s restaurant. The project was initially postponed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The company continues to focus on its rapid global development and is seeking potential franchisees in Brazil, Japan and Southeast Asia. Papa John’s is currently in 50 international countries and territories around the globe.
In recent years, it has entered 12 new countries, including France, Spain, Tunisia, Iraq, the Netherlands, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Pakistan, and Portugal.
