• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About Franchise Chatter
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Affiliate Disclosures
  • Subscribers Hub
    • Login
    • New to Franchise Chatter? Start Here
    • America’s Most Lucrative Franchises
    • Franchises Ranked by Average Revenues
    • Franchises Ranked by Average Profits
    • Franchise Winners, Survivors and Losers Last Year
    • FDD Talk
    • Search by Name
  • Top Franchises
  • Franchise Earnings
  • Costs
  • Fees
  • Quiz
  • Search

FDD Talk: Marco’s Pizza Franchise Review (Financial Performance Analysis, Costs, Fees, and More)

Last updated on January 24, 2021 by Franchise Chatter Leave a Comment
in FDD Talk: Food Franchises, Franchise Earnings, Pizza Franchises



Learn Which Franchises Can Make You Rich

In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

  • Section I – Background information on the Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates
  • Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Marco’s Pizza franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2020 FDD
  • Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a Marco’s Pizza franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2020 FDD
  • Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned Marco’s Pizza outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2017, 2018, and 2019, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2020 FDD
  • Section V – Presentation and analysis of Marco’s Pizza’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2020 FDD, including information on the:
  • 2019 average, median, lowest, and highest Net Royalty Sales on a category and cumulative basis, for the top 25%, 50%, and 75%, and the bottom 25%, 50%, and 75% of the 676 Franchised Stores that were open for business for 52 weeks in Marco’s Pizza’s 2019 fiscal year
  • 2018 average, median, lowest, and highest Net Royalty Sales on a category and cumulative basis, for the top 25%, 50%, and 75%, and the bottom 25%, 50%, and 75% of the 621 Franchised Stores that were open for business for 52 weeks in Marco’s Pizza’s 2018 fiscal year
  • number of Franchised Stores with Net Royalty Sales over $1,000,000, by year for the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years
  • 2019 average and median food/paper and labor costs, as a percentage of Net Royalty Sales, of the 39 Company-Owned Stores that were open for business for 52 weeks in Marco’s Pizza’s fiscal year ended December 29, 2019
  • 2019 average, median, lowest, and highest EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) on a category and cumulative basis, for the top 25%, 50%, and 75%, as well as the bottom 25%, 50%, and 75%, of the 39 Company-Owned Stores that were open for business for 52 weeks in Marco’s Pizza’s fiscal year ended December 29, 2019

Section I – Background Information

21 Things You Need to Know About the Marco’s Pizza Franchise

Appoints 40-Year Pizza Veteran to Executive Team

1.  In mid-January 2020, Marco’s Pizza appointed Tim Brown as its new vice president, chief of operations. The appointment came at an essential time as Marco’s Pizza approached 1,000 locations and ramped up international growth. Brown, a Marco’s Pizza area representative and franchisee for more than a decade, now leads both franchise operations as well as company-managed operations.

America's Most Lucrative Franchises of the Year

2.  Brown began his career in the pizza industry 40 years ago as a delivery driver for Domino’s while attending Ohio State University. He worked his way up the ranks at Domino’s and ultimately became the senior vice president of operations for its largest franchisee, overseeing stores in eight states and two foreign countries. He joined the Marco’s Pizza brand in 2008 and now owns nine stores and serves as an area representative for Marco’s Pizza in Alabama and Middle Tennessee.

3.  Tony Libardi, president and COO of Marco’s Pizza, said, “Tim will be a great addition to the Marco’s Operations and Executive Leadership Teams. We’re excited to add a person with his expertise, proven performance, and commitment to excellence. He knows how to deliver a five-star experience in his stores, and we look for him to help apply those best practices to the rest of the system.”

4.  As chief of operations, Brown will bring his need for speed to the rest of the brand while looking to make immediate improvements to profits and helping stores realize true cost savings. These efforts begin with building a team designed to work with franchisees and area representatives to provide training and enhancements to overall operations systemwide.

5.  According to Brown, “I joined this brand years ago because I believed in the product and our culture of performance. As we approach 1,000 locations, it’s essential we create a great experience for our guests and our employees, which starts with executing operational excellence always. The future is bright for Marco’s Pizza and I’m thrilled to be joining the leadership team at such a pivotal time of growth.”

Launches Crustless Specialty Pizza Bowls


🎯Find Good Franchises That Are Still AVAILABLE in Your Target Area (Free Tool)



🚀How to Find, Vet & FUND a Good Franchise. Watch Our Webinar Live or the Recording Later (Register Now – It's Free)



💰How Much Franchise Can You AFFORD? Use Our Free Financial Calculator


6.  In early March 2020, Marco’s Pizza launched Specialty Pizza Bowls – a crustless pie made to meet consumers’ ever-changing dietary preferences – as part of the brand’s permanent menu. Marco’s Specialty Pizza Bowls allow consumers to enjoy their favorite food while following their higher-protein, lower-carb diets.

7.  The new menu item comes in three varieties: Deluxe, All Meat, and Garden. Each features Marco’s signature cheese blend that is fresh, never frozen, and its original sauce recipe developed by founder Pat Giammarco. The Specialty Pizza Bowls start at the suggested menu price of $8.49. Prices may vary depending on location.

8.  Steve Seyferth, senior vice president, chief experience officer of Marco’s Pizza, said, “The Specialty Pizza Bowl is everything you love about pizza minus the crust. As one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, adapting to consumer trends is part of our DNA. While others in the QSR space have developed breadless options, this concept is bold and refreshing for our category – it will transform the way people eat and enjoy their pizza.”

9.  As a carb-cutting alternative, the bowl craze grew into a powerful concept in the food and beverage industry. Now, Marco’s brings these crustless sensations to customers as a natural extension of its popular Specialty Pizza line, providing a different way for pizza lovers and families to experience its high-quality, Italian ingredients.

10.  Seyferth added, “Marco’s Pizza will always be committed to high-quality ingredients – this product allows us to do so in a new, innovative, and carb-conscious way. We wanted to give pizza lovers another option to eating their favorite food. No one can match our beloved toppings wrapped together in a delicious baked bowl. Marco’s officially gives you permission to eat pizza with a fork!”

Franchises Ranked by Average Profits

Looking Toward the Future as Sales Are Up 20 Percent

11.  Marco’s Pizza, which did over $600 million in systemwide sales in 2019 at more than 900 locations, has seen its year-over-year sales climb about 20 percent across the whole system, said president and COO Tony Libardi back in May 2020. In some markets, sales were up as much as 40 and even 50 percent.

12.  The pizza industry was way ahead of other restaurant companies in the off-premises game. Pizza chains have mastered delivery for the last 40 years, and most of them – Marco’s included – have very little dine-in space to begin with, so they didn’t lose much when state governments started mandating dining rooms to close back in March.

13.  Libardi says Marco’s owner-operators around the country have already been encouraged to support their communities, providing pizza for everything from schools and Parent Teacher Associations to local businesses, chambers of commerce, and fundraisers. That meant that when the crisis hit, Marco’s already had deeply planted roots to keep the business stable.

14.  Despite Marco’s enjoying a banner sales year, Libardi says he’s not resting on his laurels. In fact, he’s so convinced that the COVID-19 pandemic will permanently change the face of the restaurant industry that he’s already exploring operational changes that can accommodate things like social distancing and contactless service. He lists several possible changes that are likely to become standard practice at restaurants across America, even after the coronavirus is behind us – things like smaller stores, dividers over the counters, masks on employees, maybe even hand-washing stations at the front counter.

15.  Automation will be key to the restaurant industry of the future, Libardi says. That includes behind the counter; Marco’s employees are regularly in close quarters, shoulder to shoulder, making pizzas, he says, and some of their procedures will likely be automated if only to keep as few people in the kitchen as necessary. He said, “We have fortunately been testing an automated kitchen where machines are taking dough and saucing and cheesing them, and even a pepperoni slicer where it’s actually slicing and placing pepperoni on the pizza itself.”

16.  Libardi is even thinking about automated delivery. With third-party services like Grubhub and DoorDash struggling to make money – and restaurant operators increasingly frustrated by the rates those services charge – Libardi thinks robot delivery will be the natural next step to help control costs. Someday soon, he predicts, delivery aggregators will boast fleets of automated vehicles ready to deliver food to guests’ doors.

17.  Recently, the company opened its first ghost-kitchen location in Los Angeles, a 250-square-foot facility in Hollywood with no storefront or signage, just a digital back-end that allows Marco’s to sling pizzas at a minimal investment.

Company History

18.  Marco’s Pizza was founded in 1978 by Pasquale “Pat” Giammarco, an Italian immigrant, in Oregon, Ohio. Giammarco had grown up in the restaurant business as his father had opened his own restaurant after the family moved to the United States. Not only did Giammarco’s father show him how to run a restaurant, his father also created the sauce that is still used on Marco’s pizzas today.

19.  Over the next few decades, Giammarco grew Marco’s Pizza organically. By 2004, Giammarco had opened over 112 restaurants. Around that time, Giammarco met Jack Butorac, a restaurant industry expert who was asked to analyze three restaurant concepts as potential growth opportunities, including Marco’s Pizza. Butorac thought Marco’s Pizza was delicious and saw the potential for growth.

20.  Butorac began working as a consultant with Giammarco and soon began negotiations to purchase the franchising rights to Marco’s Pizza. Butorac assumed leadership of the company with a vision to take Marco’s Pizza national. Under Butorac’s leadership, Marco’s Pizza grew to 900 stores by 2019 and there are now locations all across the United States and internationally.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

21.  Marco’s Pizza ranked No. 83 on Entrepreneur’s 2020 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

  • Please click here for detailed estimates of Marco’s Pizza franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2020 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

  • Please click here for detailed information on Marco’s Pizza’s initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2020 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2017

  • Outlets at the Start of the Year:  734
  • Outlets at the End of the Year:  825
  • Net Change:  +91

2018

  • Outlets at the Start of the Year:  825
  • Outlets at the End of the Year:  844
  • Net Change:  +19

2019

  • Outlets at the Start of the Year:  844
  • Outlets at the End of the Year:  875
  • Net Change:  +31

Company-Owned

2017

  • Outlets at the Start of the Year:  36
  • Outlets at the End of the Year:  42
  • Net Change:  +6

2018

  • Outlets at the Start of the Year:  42
  • Outlets at the End of the Year:  39
  • Net Change:  -3

2019

  • Outlets at the Start of the Year:  39
  • Outlets at the End of the Year:  40
  • Net Change:  +1

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2020 FDD) and Analysis

  • As of December 29, 2019, there were 875 Marco’s Pizza Franchised Stores and 39 Company-Owned Stores (as defined below). Of the 875 Franchised Stores, 676 Franchised Stores operated for the full 52-week period ending December 29, 2019.
  • Marco’s Pizza has prepared this financial performance representation to reflect the historical data of the Net Royalty Sales of 676 Marco’s Pizza Franchised Stores and 39 Company-Owned Stores (as defined below) that were open during 52 weeks of the fiscal year ending December 29, 2019.
  • This information does not include the performance of (i) 86 new Stores that were not open for the entire 52-week period in 2019, (ii) special venue locations, and (iii) locations developed and operated by Hoogland Foods, LLC, dba Family Video.
  • Information concerning the 39 Company-Owned Stores was sourced from internally-prepared accounting statements.
  • “Company-Owned Stores” include all Stores owned by Cleveland Marco’s, LLC and all other Stores that Cleveland Marco’s, LLC manages for a fee that are owned by Marco’s Pizza’s affiliated entities including Yellow Jacket, LLC, Airport Pizza, LLC, Authentic Pizza, LLC, Marco’s Indiana, LLC, Orlando Marco’s, LLC, and 45 Pizza, LLC.
  • Cleveland Marco’s, LLC has an equity ownership interest in Authentic Pizza, LLC, and both Cleveland Marco’s, LLC and Marco’s Pizza’s CEO have an equity interest in Marco’s Indiana, LLC and 45 Pizza, LLC.

Part 1 – Net Royalty Sales of Franchised Stores by Category

  • The following charts provide the average and median Net Royalty Sales on a category and cumulative basis, for the top 25%, 50%, and 75%, and the bottom 25%, 50%, and 75% of the 676 Franchised Stores which were open for business for 52 weeks in Marco’s Pizza’s 2019 fiscal year and the 621 Franchised Stores which were open for business for 52 weeks in Marco’s Pizza’s 2018 fiscal year.

A.  2019

Top 25% of Franchised Stores



To Access the Rest of This Article and Other Premium, Income-Enhancing Content, Subscribe Now or Log In.

Gain the Insider Information (and Actual Earnings Data) You Need to Make a Safe and Smart Franchise Investment. Click Here to Learn More.



Gain the Insider Information (and Actual Earnings Data) You Need to Make a Safe and Smart Franchise Investment - See more at: https://www.franchisechatter.com/register/#sthash.le7wKJKM.dpuf

🎯Find Good Franchises That Are Still AVAILABLE in Your Target Area (Free Tool)



🚀How to Find, Vet & FUND a Good Franchise. Watch Our Webinar Live or the Recording Later (Register Now – It's Free)



💰How Much Franchise Can You AFFORD? Use Our Free Financial Calculator



Franchises Ranked by Average Revenues and Profits



Franchise Winners and Losers Last Year

Tagged as: Marco's Pizza

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous post: FDD Talk: School of Rock Franchise Review (Financial Performance Analysis, Costs, Fees, and More)

Next post: FDD Talk: Shack Shine Franchise Review (Financial Performance Analysis, Costs, Fees, and More)

Primary Sidebar

🚀How to Find, Vet and FUND a Good Franchise (Webinar)

✅ Is Franchising a Path for You? – Apr. 7 (Fri.), 11 a.m. EST

✅ Popular Trends in Franchising – Apr. 11 (Tues.), 4 p.m. EST

✅ Register Now to Get Free Access to Recordings of Both Webinars

Register Now

🤔Buying a Franchise on Your Own Can Be Overwhelming

✅ Get the guidance and support you need every step of the way (including funding 💵) from an experienced franchise broker at no cost to you.

✅ Fill out this form and a specialist from the Franchise Brokers Association will reach out to you.

⭐️Franchise Chatter is reader-supported. We may receive a commission for leads generated from our site.

As seen in:  New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and CNBC

Login

Remember Me
Register | Lost your Password?
Reminder: Your username and password are case-sensitive.

Need help? Email franchisechatterblog@gmail.com

👍”Your website and you have been instrumental in finding this franchise opportunity and I am overwhelmingly grateful.” (David F., subscriber)

🏆 Best Franchises by Industry

Best Franchises by Industry (All Lists)

Best Gym and Fitness Franchises

Best Pizza Franchises

Best Sandwich Franchises

Best Childcare Franchises

Best Ice Cream Franchises

Best Coffee Franchises

Best Hamburger Franchises

Best Salon and Beauty Franchises

Best Chicken Franchises

Best Smoothie and Juice Franchises

Best Maid Service Franchises

Best Mexican Restaurant Franchises

Best Massage Service Franchises

Best Tutoring Franchises

Best Auto Repair Franchises

Best Auto Oil Change Franchises

Best Asian Restaurant Franchises

Best Pet Franchises

Best Commercial Cleaning Franchises

Best Sports Bar Franchises

Best Baked Goods Franchises

Best Moving/Junk Removal Franchises

Best Mailbox Franchises

Best Apparel Retail Franchises

Best Senior Care Franchises

Best Restoration Franchises

Best Tech Franchises

Best Travel Agency Franchises

Best Trampoline Park Franchises

Best Tools Distribution Franchises

Best Property Management Franchises

Best Real Estate Franchises

Best Automotive Wheels and Tires Franchises

Best Weight Loss Franchises

Best Flooring Franchises

Best Eye Care Franchises

Best Physical Therapy Franchises

Best CBD Franchises

Best Tea Franchises

Best Ghost Kitchen Franchises

Best Acai Bowl Franchises

Best Poké Bowl Franchises

Best Donut Franchises

Best Kitchen and Bath Remodeling Franchises

Best Window Coverings Franchises

Best Plumbing Franchises

Best Home Inspection Franchises

Best Garage Franchises

Best Barbershop Franchises

Best Laundromat Franchises

Best Storage Unit Franchises

Best Car Wash Service Franchises

🚀 Daily FDD Talk Posts

Pure Green Franchise

Seniors Helping Seniors Franchise

Best Choice Roofing Franchise

LIME Painting Franchise

milliCare Franchise

One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning Franchise

PatchMaster Franchise

Spray Foam Genie Franchise

Bumble Bee Blinds Franchise

Mr. Sandless Franchise

EverLine Coatings Franchise

Blue Kangaroo Packoutz Franchise

Tommy’s Express Car Wash Franchise

Footprints Floors Franchise

Wendy’s Franchise

Clean Juice Franchise

Nurse Next Door Franchise

Made in the Shade Blinds & More Franchise

Five Star Bath Solutions Franchise

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Franchise

Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise

Uptown Cheapskate Franchise

Pancheros Mexican Grill Franchise

Squeeze Franchise

Mosquito Squad Franchise

The Exercise Coach Franchise

ProLift Garage Doors Franchise

Heroes Lawn Care Franchise

Burn Boot Camp Franchise

Wing Zone Franchise

DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen Franchise

The Camp Transformation Center Franchise

Brightway Insurance Franchise

Owl Be There Franchise

The Dog Wizard Franchise

Scenthound Franchise

Bin There Dump That Franchise

Gotcha Covered Franchise

Phenix Salon Suites Franchise

AKT Franchise

Kitchen Solvers Franchise

FASTSIGNS Franchise

Zoom Drain Franchise

Pool Scouts Franchise

Ace Hardware Franchise

Signarama Franchise

Jovie Franchise

i9 Sports Franchise

UFC Gym Franchise

Sola Salons Franchise

N-Hance Wood Refinishing Franchise

Franchise Chatter © 2023