Papa Johns announced Tuesday plans to open 50 more restaurants over the next five years under the terms of a new development deal with franchisee Nadeem Bajwa and the Bajco Group. The restaurants are expected to mostly open in Bajwa’s existing markets across the Midwest, and in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Bajco Group currently owns 200 restaurants, and plans to one day own more than 500 Papa Johns locations.
“Nadeem’s story is a clear example of how Papa Johns supports its franchisees to build shared success,” Joe Sieve, Papa Johns chief restaurant officer, said in a statement. “After starting his Papa Johns journey as a delivery driver, today he is one of the strongest ambassadors for the opportunities Papa Johns presents to its team members and franchisees. Nadeem’s confidence in the brand and expertise in the industry reinforces why he knows there has never been a better time to grow with Papa Johns.”
Bajwa started as a Papa Johns delivery driver more than 30 years ago, and has since worked his way up in the business world through owning and operating Papa Johns restaurants.
“You have a responsibility to determine what people get out of their job,” Nadeem said in a statement. “It’s important to develop future leaders and surround yourself with people who have a desire to grow like you. If I slow down, that impacts their goals and dreams too.”
This franchise development deal was conceived as a result of the Back to Growth program, part of Papa Johns’ Back to Better 2.0 strategy, that is meant to incentivize franchisees to grow by lowering marketing expenditure requirements from 8% to 6%. The Back to Better 2.0 strategy, which former outgoing Rob Lynch announced in January, is designed to fill “untapped and underserved markets in North America,” as well as drive top-line sales growth for both the company and for franchisees.
Lynch said during the company’s last earnings call that he expects that the company will see the results of Back to Better 2.0 in the second quarter of 2024, which just began and extends until the end of June. The franchise development deal announced with Bajco Group is one of the first tangible results of that previously announced franchisee incentive strategy.
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