To make better pricing decisions and remain competitive with rivals like Domino’s and Pizza Hut, Papa Johns International says it has expanded its partnership with QL2, the company behind OptiPrice, a pricing gap analytics platform.
According to a press release, the chain previously tested OptiPrice “to determine the viability of being able to capture competitive pricing on a national basis across thousands of zip codes.” Based on QL2’s “ability to deliver beyond expectations with anticipated and measurable ROI,” Papa Johns executive John Ishmael said it will expand its use of the platform.
“We are now using the QL2 OptiPrice capabilities to ensure that our products remain price-competitive and that our customers are receiving great value from each of our restaurants,” said Ishmael, Papa Johns’ senior vice president, business transformation, in the press release.
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In a September 2022 press release about its partnership with Papa Johns, QL2 said the pizza giant would “leverage competitive pricing analytics to reduce discounts” and “make faster and better product pricing decisions to remain competitive, which will drive sales and margin gains.”
“Increasingly, our retail customers are leveraging the QL2 OptiPrice platform to have better visibility into their competitive position and deliver products priced right every time,” Carl Wartzack, CEO of QL2, added. “Papa Johns has been a great partner with an eye towards the possible, and we are excited to expand the partnership and deliver value for them in new areas.”
Papa Johns went on a roll during and after the pandemic, with same-store sales rising 26% on a three-year basis. However, in the fourth quarter ending in December 2022, same-store sales only increased 1% over the same quarter in 2021.
In an earnings call marking the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, Ann Gugino, Papa John’s CFO at the time, said “strategic pricing actions” were key to the company’s same-store sales growth, along with menu innovations and “enhanced value platform popup pairings.”
“For the fourth quarter menu, prices were approximately [7%] to 9% higher compared with a year ago, primarily due to strategic pricing actions taken during the first half of 2022,” Gugino said, according to Restaurant Dive.
