Member Article

Papa John’s ex-army franchisee marches on Leeds to open seventh store in 7 months

Papa John’s franchisee and ex-army major, Dan Wilkinson, has arrived in Leeds to open his seventh store in as many months since joining the franchise network at the end of last year.

So far Dan has taken over two Papa John’s in Aberdeen, two in Liverpool and opened new outlets in Durham, Harrogate and now Leeds.

Dan said: “As well as a ‘bit of luck’ combined with the growing reputation of Papa John’s, I put my success so far down to people.”

“I aim to engender a culture of family amongst my staff and by being a great employer and looking after people, they want to give back. This means we are all moving in the same direction and this becomes a powerful force.

“The Papa John’s team have also been particularly supportive. They are always on-hand to help us improve our marketing and operations and, for example, recently arranged for me to be interviewed on You & Yours on Radio 4, which was a great opportunity to discuss how we are continually improving our customer service!”

He continued: “Papa John’s is currently at the perfect stage in its evolution to capitalise on opening stores in my region. As the company continues to grow and become ‘The Brand’ within the pizza delivery market, my goal is to open between 10 and 20 Papa John’s over the next few years.

“Our next opening campaign is already planned for Scotland, so watch this space!”

Papa John’s, one of the largest pizza companies in the world with more than 4,450 stores globally in 36 markets, is a longstanding full member of the British Franchise Association.

The company is currently offering franchisee incentives for new stores opening in Wales, the Midlands, the north-east, the north-west and Scotland, including a royalty break, free equipment and contribution towards marketing spend for the store opening launch.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Stafford .