Pieology Pizzeria has got plans in the oven to win the parlor wars.
Already one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza chains, the Orange County company now has backing from Panda Restaurant Group, the Rosemead owner of popular Chinese chain Panda Express, which last month said it would buy a minority stake in the business. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
For Pieology, which launched in 2011, the support could provide a substantial push above formidable competition. Pizza chains have boomed in recent years, including 800 Degrees; Pizza Rev; and Pasadena’s Blaze Pizza, which topped the Business Journal’s most recent list of fastest-growing companies.
They all feature a nearly identical model where customers select toppings from a counter of ingredients and their custom-designed pies are cooked up quickly in high-temperature ovens. Also, they all advertise fresh, quality ingredients and short wait times. So how to get ahead? Pieology is counting on Panda’s help.
“We now have access to PRG’s unlimited resources, from real estate and vendor relations to huge buying power,” founder Carl Chang told the Business Journal in an email.
The chain aims to open more than 135 locations this year, then add between 100 and 120 spots a year in the next few years. Already, Pieology is set to double sales in 2016, Chang said.
Pieology is his first foray into food after managing his brother Michael Chang’s star tennis career and acquiring property management and brokerage firms.
Panda, meanwhile, is a 33-year-old giant on the international fast-food scene, boasting nearly 1,900 outposts and a famous orange chicken recipe.
For Pieology, winning the pizza parlor prize may come down to nabbing top locations before its competitors.
“It’s definitely a race for the best real estate,” said Chang.
Talking Shop
Is e-commerce scary to retailers and retail brokers?
That question dominated a panel discussion at a recent Idea Exchange conference in downtown Los Angeles held by the International Council of Shopping Malls. The answers took root in two other words beginning with “e” – “evolution” and “experience.”
“Retail has evolved,” said Jeff Kreshek, vice president of Federal Realty in El Segundo. “You’re not going to talk about building shopping centers. You’re going to talk about building communities.”
For example, he recently tapped Sugarfina for a small space at the Point shopping complex in El Segundo, feeling that the high-end candy store is an ideal fit rather than a major national brand.
“There has to be a soul, a DNA and a reason for these projects to exist,” Kreshek said.
Creating an experience that can’t easily be replicated is key, added Elizabeth Hoxworth, director of real estate for Sprouts Farmers Market.
“A clerk might tell kids who come into the store, Have you tried these kinds of apples?” she said. “The experience is something retailers have to work on no matter what’s happening in the economy.”
Clare De Briere, chief operating officer of Ratkovich Co. in Los Angeles, said creating a welcoming experience permeated her firm’s renovation plans for the Bloc, a downtown L.A. mall once known for its bunkerlike architecture.
“The idea of building community, a place that’s pleasing to come into, is what’s key,” she said.
Bye-Bye Bookstores
The story is over for two L.A. bookstores.
Traveler’s Bookcase, a 24-year-old shop on Third Street near the Beverly Center, is selling off books as it prepares to close. The 4-year-old Bank of Books in Malibu will shutter in April. They were among a handful of L.A. bookstores that clung to business despite e-commerce’s boom.
Meanwhile, New York-based Barnes & Noble Inc., which runs 640 shops across the country, has been steadily closing numerous outposts for years.
But there could be a future for bookstores yet, thanks to an unlikely savior.
Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online retailer, opened a brick-and-mortar store in November in its Seattle hometown, where customers scan books with their smartphones to check prices. It has plans to open more, according to reports, though perhaps not as many as the 300 to 400 suggested by one shopping mall executive in a widely circulated Wall Street Journal article.
Tech Savvy
You might think that a city in Silicon Beach or Silicon Valley might win the eCity of California title bestowed by Google Inc. Instead, that honor went to Beverly Hills. Google praised the city for its strong online business community, saying: “Known for its glitzy shopping, Beverly Hills is home to everything from the most expensive store in the world to an ATM that dispenses fresh cupcakes. But it’s also tech savvy. The city’s website offers over 20 different online services, from paying bills to getting building permits.”
Staff reporter Daina Beth Solomon can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225 ext. 263.
