Dodo Pizza, the Russian quick service brand, has opened its third UK site, in Walsall, MCA understands.
The tech-centric concept has replaced a Pizza Hut site on 87 Lichfield Road, connected to a Co-op food store, and is being operated by the same franchisee.
It is the second Dodo site in the Midlands site under the franchisee following Coventry, with the franchise owners expected to convert several other Pizza Huts they operate in the area.
Dodo has c450 stores, mostly in Russia and Eastern Europe.
It recently hired David Sweeney, formerly of Burger King and Papa John’s, to lead its development in the UK, its focus growth market.
The UK will also become an international headquarters for Dodo as it kickstarts its national wide rollout.
Fyodor Ovchinnikov, Dodo Pizza chief executive, said: “The UK is the largest European pizza delivery market. Domino’s has about 1000 pizzerias there. The competition is stiff, but we see great potential in the UK. We’re certain there is room for new interesting players in this complex market.”
It is an IT-oriented concept, and uses a cloud-based system known as Dodo IS that collects and processes operations data, reports real-time business analytics, and helps kitchen and delivery staff to be more efficient by allowing for more informed decision-making.
