Marco's Pizza® Names Keith Sizemore to VP of Development

Multi-Unit Franchisee Embraces New Role with Aggressive Plans to Double Brand Footprint in Next Five Years

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Aug 18, 2021, 09:35 ET

TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, appoints Keith Sizemore to VP of Development from his previous operations position as VP of New Territory Development. Building from within, Marco's looks to a future of continued impressive franchise development led by Sizemore, who along with his wife Rocio own three Marco's locations with a fourth in development. Having more than two decades of franchise industry experience coupled with business ownership, Sizemore brings a unique and innovative perspective to the leadership team. In this role, Sizemore sets an aggressive development goal to double Marco's footprint over the next five years.

Sizemore was introduced to franchising at an early age, joining the Great American Cookie Company at age 17 under the reign of IFA Hall of Famer, Lawrence "Doc" Cohen. After a decade, Sizemore made the move to McDonald's where he honed his franchising skills for another 13 years in various roles supporting franchisees, corporate stores, training, marketing and development. In 2016, he joined the Marco's team as Director of Operations before progressing to VP of New Territory Development and becoming a multi-unit franchise owner with his wife before entering his new role with development.

"It's an honor to be promoted to this position and focus on the development of the brand. Being a franchisee, I've witnessed our development processes first-hand so I am able to see the gaps and create efficiencies that will help us grow faster with a focus on providing an excellent experience for our franchisees," said Sizemore. "Our goal is to become the fourth largest pizza brand in the country and I have full confidence we'll get there. We have an incredible leadership team and I'm looking forward to playing a role in growing the Marco's brand to new heights."

Marco's is a well-established and rapidly expanding brand with many primary territories available for development. Marco's provides a full development support system, including technology and tools to help identify the right territories for expansion plus expertise in financing, real estate, construction management and field operations, to assist franchisees and multi-unit operators.

Nationally, Marco's has signed more than 100 franchise agreements year-to-date, with over 200 stores in various stages of development, on track to grow its 1000-plus unit footprint by more than 10% this year. Marco's is experiencing record-breaking sales and continues to innovate and pilot new programs to sustain its performance. As a result, eager and sophisticated entrepreneurs and multi-unit operators are flocking to the franchise opportunity.

"Keith has the right vision needed for this role and I anticipate his guidance and leadership will bring us continued growth and development success for years to come," said SVP, Chief Experience Officer, Steve Seyferth, who oversees development.

With the right team in place, Marco's has been able to maintain rapid growth and actualize development goals while expanding with franchisees who embrace its People-First approach to business. The development team has found new, cost-saving opportunities to keep the initial up-front investment affordable including smaller footprints, pickup windows, tools that accelerate the new store opening process and more, creating operational efficiencies that improve the overall guest experience and grow sales.

Opening a new store every three and a half days on average, the Top 50% of its franchised stores generated $1,059,574 AUV for 2020*. For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 866-731-8209.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA
Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making authentic Italian quality pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,000 stores in 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2020 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 6 in the Largest Pizza Chain category on Restaurant Business' 2020 "Top 500 Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include ranking No. 4 in Forbes 2019 "Best Franchises to Buy" Small/Medium Investment and ranking five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 200" ranking.

*Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2020. Based on fiscal year 2020, 142 of 369 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2021 FDD – please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

SOURCE Marco's Pizza