Roy Morgan Research shows what really happened in Australia’s pizza war
New Roy Morgan research provides some explanation for the financial difficulties of Eagle Boys Pizza.
The figures show how much customer visitation rates had been dropping over several years.
The data coincidentally was released after Eagle Boys Pizza’s head office went into voluntary administration last month.
The data shows that between 2012 and 2016, Eagle Boys’ visitation rates fell from 852, 000 ever average four-weeks, to 336, 000, a 61 per cent decrease.
It is however not the only pizza chain to see a drop in visitors across the period, Pizza Hut experienced at 25 per cent decline, dropping from 1 million to 745, 000.
By contrast, Domino’s has gone from 1.8 million customers every four weeks in 2012 to 2.3 million in 2016.
Overall Australian pizza consumption has also increased, with 5 million Aussies ordering from a store at least once every four weeks in the 12 months leading up to March 2016. In March 2012, 4.8 million Australians were visiting pizza stores at least once every four weeks.
Domino’s big victory in the pizza wars: visitation of Australia’s pizza chains, April 2012-March 2016
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), April 2011-March 2016, average 12-month sample=17,843. Base: Australians 14+. NB: Crust Pizza and Pizza Capers measured from July 2012
Group Account Director at Roy Morgan Research, Angela Smith, said that the fast food industry was in flux with many chains losing customers since 2012.
“The pizza sector has not been immune to this downward trend, with Eagle Boys’ recent collapse into administration a particularly high-profile example,” Smith said.
“Domino’s, on the other hand, has managed to swim against the prevailing tide and grow its store network and customer base,” she said.
