Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, reveals major enhancements to its franchise development program set to fuel rapid growth as the 1,000-plus unit brand aims to reach its expansion goal of 1,500 units by the end 2023. Notably, stores continue to open at a rapid rate and the enhancements have provided attractive incentives for multi-unit growth, while making it easier to secure financing from preferred lenders.

With more than 200 stores in development, Marco’s is on the fast-track to achieving this growth goal. As franchise development continues to surge, leadership prioritizes investments in new technology, personnel, strategic vendor partnerships, and more to accelerate the brand’s growth strategy. With these enhancements, Marco’s franchise development support is world-class, creating opportunity for sophisticated entrepreneurs and operators to grow their multi-unit portfolios.

“I’ve been with Marco’s for 11 years and can confidently say that the level of sophistication and detail of the franchise development program has never been stronger,” says Area Representative and Franchisee Robert Pina, who just signed a 46-store deal, one of the largest deals in Marco’s brand history. “Marco’s makes it easy to become an empire builder in the system. If you’re looking to grow a robust pizza portfolio, you won’t find a more dedicated and supportive team than this. Marco’s leadership and devotion to franchise growth and franchisee support is simply unmatched.”

Designed to bring ease to the development process, Marco’s created enhancements in four critical areas: financing, growth incentives, real estate, design & construction.

• Strategic Support to Secure Financing: Understanding the challenges surrounding lending, Marco’s Director of Franchise Financing, Brad Fletcher, and the finance team, have established partnerships with eight preferred banks and lending institutions. Through quarterly meetings, the Marco’s finance team provides key updates on the state of the business, growth, and performance. As a result, banks are in a better position to offer favorable lending terms to individual Marco’s franchisees. According to FRANdata, a leading research and advisory firm that analyzes the franchise market, Marco’s 2021 FUND Score is in the top 1 percent of all evaluated franchise systems and is among the top three scores for all quick-service restaurant brands.
• Multi-Unit Growth Incentive:  Marco’s offers a long-term incentive for multi-unit owners, including franchisee fee discounts, reduced royalties, and growth acceleration bonuses – download the Franchise Information Report for more information.
• Strengthened Real Estate Support Team: Marco’s continues to add real estate expertise and support to help accelerate site selection and guide franchisees at key decision points. 
• Streamlined Design & Construction Process: Marco’s recently formalized a partnership with a single architect to streamline the design process. This partnership has helped shorten the build-out process by approximately two weeks. Furthermore, the architect shepherds the process through permitting on behalf of the franchisee so they do not have to take on additional responsibility with local municipalities. Marco’s has also brought in several general contracting experts who will provide franchisees with assistance in reviewing the bid, aligning pricing, conducting a pre-construction meeting, and reviewing schedule for project completion.

 

“As a result of strategic enhancements, our development team is able to act soundly as consultants to franchisees by providing information, insights, and recommendations at every key decision point and milestone,” says Keith Sizemore, Vice President of Development for Marco’s Pizza. “This, paired with the fact that several members of our team are also franchisees themselves, brings a unique perspective to the support process. Franchisees are given the confidence that they are making the right decisions.”

In addition to its robust franchise development support, Marco’s continues to invest in building its brand through a multi-channel national advertising program. This has played a significant role in driving sales as the brand projects to reach $1B in annual systemwide sales in 2022. 

“There’s never been a more opportune time for both existing and prospective franchisees to grow with Marco’s,” says Steve Seyferth, SVP and Chief Experience Officer at Marco’s Pizza. “With plenty of territories available for growth, our development and performance strategy remain centered on finding multi-unit franchisees who align with our business strategy and culture, while continuing to prioritize innovation and maximize unit-level profitability.”

With strong growth and performance, Marco’s sets its sights on becoming the No. 4 brand in pizza. The brand experienced an 12.8% increase in year-over-year Average Unit Volume (AUV), and the Top 50% of Marco’s franchised stores generated $1,198,201 AUV for 2021.