Papa Johns
Papa John's is an American pizza restaurant franchise. It's the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States,[3] with headquarters in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, a suburb of Louisville.
History
The Papa John's restaurant was founded in 1984 when "Papa" John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father's tavern, Mick's Lounge, in Jeffersonville, Indiana.[4] He then sold his 1971 Camaro Z28 to purchase US$1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern's customers out of the converted closet.[5] His pizzas proved sufficiently popular that a year later he moved into an adjoining space. Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by Papa John's Pizza that same year, and has since become popular when eating pizza, especially the crust.[6] The company went public in 1993. A year later it had 500 stores, and by 1997 it had opened 1,500 stores.[7] In 2009, Schnatter reacquired the Camaro back after offering a reward of $250,000 for the car.[8]
PMQ Pizza Magazine said in December 2016 that the company was the third-largest take-out and pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States.[9] (According to PMQ, Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain; however, it does not deliver.[10]) The company's net profitability though, is far behind its main competitors. In 2014 its net margin was 4.6% of total sales, whereas Domino's Pizza's net margin was 8.2% and Yum! Brands, which owns Pizza Hut, was 7.9%.[11] Company headquarters are in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, a community within the merged government of Louisville.[12][13][14] Its slogan is "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John's."
Papa John's has over 5,199 establishments—4,456 franchised restaurants operating domestically in all 50 states and in 44 countries and territories. Papa John's operates 246 "company owned stores" under joint ventures and 35 units in Beijing and North China.[1] In September 2012 the 4,000th Papa John's Pizza restaurant opened, in New Hyde Park, New York. The company celebrated the event by giving away 4,000 free pizzas to customers throughout New York City.[5][15][16]
The company announced on December 21, 2017, that John Schnatter would step down as CEO of Papa John's Pizza on January 1, 2018, to be replaced as CEO by current company President Steve Ritchie with Schnatter remaining chairman at the time.[17] In February 2018, Papa John's and the NFL mutually agreed to end their sponsorship agreement after Schnatter's criticism of the NFL made headlines.[18]
On July 11, 2018, news outlets reported that during a conference call with Papa Johns' marketing agency Laundry Services, Schnatter had used the word "nigger" by saying "Colonel Sanders called blacks niggers and Sanders never faced public backlash." Schnatter alleged that referencing the quote by the KFC founder was meant to convey his dislike for racism.[19] After the call, the owner of the marketing agency moved to end their contract with Papa John's. Schnatter resigned as chairman of the board on the same day the incident was reported.[20]
After the incident, Ritchie apologized in an open letter and ordered the company's workforce to undergo bias and diversity training.[21][22]
On July 26, 2018, John Schnatter filed a lawsuit against Papa John's Pizza to give him access to the company's books and records after they fired him from the company after the teleconference call scandal. He describes the company's procedures as an "unexplained and heavy-handed way" to cut ties between him and the company that he founded. In addition to preventing him from accessing information, the corporation has also implemented a poison pill strategy in order to limit Schnatter's chances of buying back a majority stake in the company.[23]
On February 4, 2019, it was announced that the activist hedge fund Starboard Value, which had played a large role in turning around the troubled Olive Garden restaurant chain, would be investing $200 million into Papa John's Pizza and that Starboard could possibly invest an additional $50 million by March 29, 2019.[24] It was simultaneously announced that Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith would become the new Papa John's chairman and that Anthony Sanfilippo, former CEO of the gaming company Pinnacle Entertainment, would be another addition to the company's board.[25] Following that announcement, Ritchie said that he hoped the deal would put an end to the ongoing feud with Schnatter, telling CNBC's David Faber, "Obviously, we're very hopeful that we can bring John along."[26] However, Schnatter has expressed concerns that Ritchie is not the right executive for Papa John's.[27]
On March 5, 2019, Papa John's announced a settlement with Schnatter under which he will resign from the company's board of directors at the company's annual meeting on April 30 or when a mutually acceptable independent director is appointed to replace him, whichever comes first.[28] Schnatter agreed to dismiss two lawsuits filed against the company and to withdraw his plan to run for a seat on the board at the annual meeting. Papa John's agreed to remove the "acting in concert" provisions from its "poison pill" plan that prevented Schnatter from communicating with other company shareholders. Schnatter, who still controls 31% of Papa John's shares, issued a statement saying he was "thankful that I've been able to resolve these important issues" and hoped everyone could now "focus on the company's business without the need for additional litigation".[29] The company also agreed to remove a requirement that Starboard Value, which owns about 10% of the company, must vote in favor of the incumbent board.[30]
On March 22, 2019, it was announced that NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal will join Papa John's board of directors and become a spokesman for the brand.[31][32]
On August 27, 2019, Papa John's announced Arby's President Rob Lynch would be the new CEO replacing Steve Ritchie, who was handpicked by founder John Schnatter to succeed him in 2018.[
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