Papa John’s inks deal to open over 1,300 stores in China by 2040
The franchisee development agreement is the biggest in the pizza chain’s history.
Papa John’s has signed an agreement with Asian independent private equity firm FountainVest Partners to open more than 1,350 new stores across South China by 2040 - the biggest in the chain’s history.
FountainVest has also purchased a majority stake in current Papa John’s franchisee CFB Group, which owns and operates approximately 160 restaurants in Shanghai and across southern China.
“This partnership with FountainVest marks another major milestone in achieving Papa Johns global growth potential, reflecting both the scale of our brand’s global opportunity and the quality of franchisees that are investing in our future,” Papa John’s president and CEO Rob Lynch said in a statement.
“Papa Johns has enormous global development whitespace in the US and in attractive growth markets, especially relative to our peers. Our new development agreement with FountainVest alone stands to grow Papa Johns current global unit count by 25%.”
“At FountainVest, our investment process begins by identifying growth-oriented, industry-leading enterprises that are aligned with the growth dynamics of the Chinese marketplace,” said Andrew Huang, managing director of FountainVest. “Papa Johns premium position offers an attractive opportunity in the QSR sector, which has already been proven in China and which we believe will continue to thrive.”
Amanda Clark, Papa John’s chief development officer, added, “FountainVest is exactly the kind of partner we look to help grow our brand internationally. They are well-capitalized, experienced operators with deep knowledge of their local market. They clearly recognize our brand’s promising outlook and strong unit economics.”
In recent years, Papa John’s has entered 15 new countries, including Spain, Portugal, Germany, Cambodia, Pakistan, France and Poland.
