Gondola Group says it has delivered “another strong performance” in the year, saying that the evolution of its Zizzi brand is “almost complete”, PizzaExpress has “strong positive momentum” and ASK Italian is “well on the way to realising its long term vision”.
In the group’s interim report interim report for 2014, chairman Chris Woodhouse said “substantial progress” has been made across its brands.
“PizzaExpress has strong positive momentum with 497 restaurants now trading across the world (433 in the UK and Ireland, and 64 internationally). This includes the opening of 11 new sites in the UK and nine internationally during the first half of the year.
“Following our successful debut in Mumbai in December 2012, we celebrated our one year anniversary with the launch of another two sites in the city; and in Hong Kong and mainland China we now have 20 restaurants operating successfully, with our first restaurant in Beijing due to open later this year.
“We also opened our first restaurants in Bali and Saudi Arabia, providing further evidence of the fact that PizzaExpress is rapidly developing into a truly international business.”
He added: “The evolution of the Zizzi brand is almost complete, resulting in a stunning portfolio of over 130 restaurants and an offer that is well defined.
“Zizzi opened four restaurants in the first half of the year and has an exciting pipeline of future openings.”
Currently 85% of the estate has been transformed, the group said. “Parallel to this reinvention, customer interest and interaction with the brand has continued to grow with innovative menu development, increased digital engagement and improved customer satisfaction scores,” the firm stated.
Woodhouse said ASK Italian is “also well on the way to realising its long term vision”, with over half of the estate now reflecting the brand’s “fresh new look”.
“The transformed sites, 17 of which were recently completed during the period, are delivering excellent returns and we are applying learnings from these restaurants to the brand’s new openings.”
Gondola said: “In July we opened a new site in Birmingham City Centre featuring some striking new design touches that add further depth to our fresh, foodie look, inspired by Milan. The site is trading exceptionally well and this success, in addition to last year’s opening in Bluewater, demonstrates the strength of our new proposition to successfully compete in urban city centre sites.
“We’ve also completed a number of shop-front refurbishments, giving us a clearer and consistent identity with a stronger street presence, which is resonating well with customers.”
More generally, Woodhouse stated: “In the broader economy there are now stronger signs of recovery, and this, with a consistent strategy, excellent pipeline of new openings in the UK and overseas, as well as a highly experienced and motivated management team across each of the three brands, provides a solid platform for the continued growth of the Gondola Group.”
