How to reinvent franchising with tech and transparency

We’ve closed two of our pizzerias. In business, sometimes it’s important to cut your losses, draw necessary conclusions, and move on. So we’ve closed our small “Dodo Pizza and Coffee” pizzeria in Syktyvkar.

The idea was beautiful, but ultimately, this experiment hadn’t become profitable. Nonetheless, we should thank it for the accumulated experience. Technologies and design created for this project are the central elements of our format. We’ve created new interior design for this pizzeria, as well as our “pizza slices” product that is timer prepared and priced flexibly (it sells at a discount after 45 minutes; after 60, it is written off).

Also, Mikhail Kropanev, our partner in China, has closed our first Hangzhou pizzeria. It was located at a distance from the main thoroughfares. Unlike our pizzeria in Yantai and despite all our efforts, the Hangzhou pizzeria at that location and in that format couldn’t become profitable. Mikhail doesn’t plan to leave the business altogether and intends to open a new pizzeria.

We’re working on our first corporate pizzeria in Hangzhou. This will be a pizzeria in a completely new format, and a brave attempt to break into the Chinese market. What’s that all about? Check out our earlier posts.