Papa John's International, Inc. - Introduction

Introduction

2002 Papa John's Boulevard
P.O. Box 99900
Louisville, Kentucky 40299-2334
U.S.A.
Telephone: (502) 261-7272
Toll Free: (888) 777-7272
Fax: (502) 266-2925
Web site: http://www.papajohns.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1993
Employees: 14,610
Sales: $917.4 million (2003)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: PZZA
NAIC: 722211 Limited-Service Restaurants; 533110 Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (Except Copyrighted Works)

Papa John's International, Inc. ranks as the third largest pizza chain in the United States, trailing only Pizza Hut (a division of YUM! Brands, Inc.) and Domino's, Inc. The company has built a chain of more than 2,800 pizza delivery and carry-out restaurants operating under the trademark "Papa John's" in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 20 international markets. Approximately 570 of the outlets are company owned, with the remainder being franchised. The firm also franchises about 115 Perfect Pizza restaurants in the United Kingdom. After the opening of its first store in 1985, Papa John's grew rapidly through the late 1990s before settling in as a more mature company in the following decade. In a highly competitive segment of the restaurant industry, Papa John's has managed to carve out a highly profitable niche by offering a very limited menu consisting of pizza, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken strips, chicken wings, and canned or bottled soft drinks; and by using high-quality ingredients and touting them in its trademark slogan "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza." Company founder John Schnatter continues to hold about a 29 percent stake in the company.