Existing Multi-Unit Franchisees See Opportune Time to Grow 25-plus Store Marco's Portfolio in New Market

Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, announces a multi-unit signed agreement that will bring six new stores to Lubbock by the end of 2023. Multi-unit expansion with existing franchisees continues to play a key role in Marco's overall growth strategy – inching closer toward its goal of becoming the No. 4 brand in pizza based on systemwide sales – including the brand's recent announcement of a 46-store development agreement.

Franchisees Mike Rogers and Justin Tarrant, who have a 12-year history with Marco's, plan to build out the Lubbock, Texas area. They are currently Area Representatives responsible for franchise development in the Dallas-Fort Worth communities which boasts 47 stores in total, with an additional eight locations in development. Mike Rogers is also an Area Representative for the 22-store Oklahoma City market, which is looking to jumpstart similar store expansion in the coming years.

Looking to expand their reach in the state of Texas, the duo sees immense opportunity in the Lubbock market, which currently does not have a Marco's presence. With vast real estate potential, a good labor market, and home to Texas Tech University, the area holds a prime opportunity for development.

Rogers and Tarrant have a strong real estate background and have already secured two leases at 6006 W Fourth Street and 6415 34^th Street. These first two Marco's locations are slated to open Q3 2022, another is due to open Q4 2022, and the remaining three stores will open by the end of 2023.

"We knew timing was right to further grow our Marco's portfolio – we both have a natural growth mentality and this, paired with the performance we've been seeing with our existing stores and the whitespace potential to scale in Lubbock, made our investment decision an easy one," said Rogers.

"Over the years, we've learned to take advantage of growth potential and build while you can. Not only are we seeing strong performance in our stores, but as a brand, Marco's is experiencing record-breaking growth. If you were ever looking to invest and grow with this brand, now is that time," added Tarrant.  

Marco's continues to pilot new programs – investing millions of dollars into technology and innovation – to sustain its performance. On track to reach $1B in annual systemwide sales in 2022, eager and sophisticated entrepreneurs and multi-unit operators are flocking to the franchise opportunity, as now nearly half of Marco's franchise network is made up of multi-unit owners.

"With the right team in place, we've been able to maintain aggressive growth and actualize our development goals as we expand with multi-unit franchisees – like Mike and Justin – who believe in our brand and growth potential," said Keith Sizemore, Vice President of Development for Marco's Pizza. "We continue to invest in and produce the best-in-class support tools to fuel and accelerate our growth strategy. With more than 200 stores in development, we're on the fast-track for explosive nationwide expansion."

The brand has set an aggressive expansion goal of 1,500 units by the end of 2023 as it seeks multi-unit operators throughout the United States and internationally. 

Marco's experienced an 12.8% increase in year-over-year Average Unit Volume (AUV), and the Top 50% of Marco's franchised stores generated $1,198,201 AUV for 2021*. According to FRANdata, a leading research and advisory firm that analyzes the franchise market, Marco's 2021 FUND Score is in the top 1% of all evaluated franchise systems and is among the top three scores for all QSR brands.

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or call 866-731-8209.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA
Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,000 stores in 33 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2022 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 4 in the Fastest Growing category on Restaurant Business' 2021 "Top 10 Fastest Growing Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include a first-time presence on Newsweek's 2022 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, ranked No. 42 on QSR's Top 50 and has been featured five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.

*Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2021. Based on fiscal year 2021, 146 of 389 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2022 FDD – please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.