Papa John's online pizza orders reach $1 billion mark
08.05.2008 06:01
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- Source: JS Online
Louisville, Ky. - Sometimes during peak hours, the phones are silent in Andy Freitas' pizza restaurants, yet the cooks are busy keeping pace with hungry customers. That's because orders are rolling in through the Internet. "It's pretty amazing not to hear a phone ring on a busy night," said Freitas, an operating partner with the largest Papa John's franchisee in the Washington, D.C., market. In the past seven years, Louisville-based Papa John's International Inc. has made a lot of dough from online ordering - more than $1 billion to be exact. The nation's third-largest pizza operator trumpeted the $1 billion milestone Wednesday, noting that its U.S. online sales have been growing at an average clip of more than 50% a year. In 2001, the chain's online sales totaled $20.4 million. Last year, its online sales approached $400 million. Other chains in the fiercely competitive pizza industry are tapping into the technology craze to give customers ways to order pies other than through the standard phone call or trip to a restaurant. Domino's Pizza Inc. put its own twist on online ordering early this year by introducing a "Pizza Tracker," which lets customers keep tabs on the progress of their orders. Consumers can find out when their pies are in the oven, on the way and even the first name of their delivery person. The tracking system has given a "big bump" to the growing online business, said Jenny Fouracre, a spokeswoman for Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino's. She wouldn't disclose specific online sales numbers.
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