🔗 Share this article

Once, Pizza Hut was the favorite for families and friends to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, endless salad selection, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet not as many customers are choosing the restaurant nowadays, and it is reducing 50% of its UK restaurants after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says one London shopper. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” However, at present, as a young adult, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

For 23-year-old Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been famous for since it launched in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.

“The way they do their buffet and their salad station, it feels like they are lowering standards and have reduced quality... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Since ingredient expenses have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become very expensive to maintain. The same goes for its outlets, which are being cut from 132 to just over 60.

The chain, in common with competitors, has also faced its costs go up. This spring, staffing costs jumped due to rises in minimum wages and an increase in employer social security payments.

Two diners say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they get delivery from a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

According to your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are similar, notes an industry analyst.

Even though Pizza Hut provides pickup and delivery through external services, it is missing out to larger chains which focus exclusively to this market.

“Another pizza company has succeeded in leading the takeaway pizza sector thanks to strong promotions and frequent offers that make shoppers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the original prices are on the higher side,” notes the specialist.

However for these customers it is acceptable to get their special meal sent directly.

“We absolutely dine at home now rather than we eat out,” comments the female customer, reflecting recent statistics that show a drop in people going to informal dining spots.

During the summer months, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a six percent decline in diners compared to the year before.

There is also one more competitor to pizza from eateries: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

An industry leader, senior partner at an advisory group, points out that not only have supermarkets been offering high-quality ready-to-bake pizzas for years – some are even selling countertop ovens.

“Shifts in habits are also having an impact in the performance of casual eateries,” states Mr. Hawkley.

The increased interest of high protein diets has increased sales at chicken shops, while hitting sales of carb-heavy pizza, he continues.

As people go out to eat less frequently, they may prefer a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with vinyl benches and traditional décor can feel more old-fashioned than luxurious.

The rise of high-quality pizzerias” over the last 10 to 15 years, such as boutique chains, has “completely altered the public's perception of what quality pizza is,” says the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a few choice toppings, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's led to Pizza Hut's decline,” she states.

“What person would spend a high price on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a franchise when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a small business based in a county in England comments: “People haven’t stopped liking pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

Dan says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it could not keep up with changing preferences.

At Pizzarova in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the pizza market is diversifying but Pizza Hut has not provided anything fresh.

“You now have individual slices, artisanal styles, new haven, sourdough, traditional Italian, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza-loving consumer to explore.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as newer generations don't have any fond memories or allegiance to the chain.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been fragmented and spread to its more modern, agile competitors. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to raise prices – which commentators say is tough at a time when personal spending are shrinking.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's global operations said the rescue aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and retain staff where possible”.

The executive stated its immediate priority was to keep running at the open outlets and takeaway hubs and to support colleagues through the change.

However with large sums going into operating its locations, it probably cannot to spend heavily in its takeaway operation because the industry is “complicated and using existing external services comes at a cost”, analysts say.

However, it's noted, lowering overhead by exiting oversaturated towns and city centres could be a smart move to adjust.