Pizza Rossa, the pizza by the slice concept, is to cease trading at the end of the month after failing to find a new home, with founder Corrado Accardi describing the area of its sole site in Leadenhall as “toxic”.
Accardi told MCA a combination of fierce competition from new operators, and roadworks and office moves causing a loss of footfall, had made trading increasingly challenging in recent months.
After learning he would have to vacate his site to make way for new skyscraper development 1 Leadenahll sooner than expected, and failing to secure any new site for the concept, the board decided it was no longer viable to keep trading and unanimously voted to close Pizza Rossa Ltd after March 30.
Accardi said Pizza Rossa had struggled to connect with British consumers, who he said tended to associate pizza with being heavy, rather than a light, by the slice lunch.
A site in Finsbury Park did not provide enough revenue, while a move into travel hubs at Road Chef had struggled to gain establish consumer loyalty against the likes of McDonald’s.
He said he was also exposed to currency fluctuations, with most ingredients coming from Italy, as well as a decline in staff coming from Europe over Brexit fears.
He said: “This has become an incredibly difficult market. We didn’t manage to capture the imagination of the British public when it comes to quality pizza for lunch. There is too much experience of Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza Express, they know pizza is heavy
“Even when they tasted ours, and realised it was light, they always said, ‘it’s delicious, but it’s pizza, it’s heavy, I won’t eat it more than once every two weeks.”
He said he would either attempt to sell the brand and assets to pay off debt, liabilities and shareholders; pay creditors and strike off the company and if monies are left, distribute them to shareholders and dissolve the company; or apply for a Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL).
