Papa John’s used to be known as your friendly pizza parlor. But now its reputation is tarnished, its founder has been banished, and its stock price is plummeting. Can it bounce back?
When the news emerged in July 2018 that Papa John’s former CEO, board chairman and founder John Schnatter had used a racial slur during a media training session, it was the latest salvo in a series of missteps by the pizza king. He had previously tangled with the NFL, blaming it for “poor leadership” when several of its players kneeled during the playing of the national anthem.
Papa John’s board had already replaced Schnatter with new CEO Steve Ritchie in December of 2017, who now has to clean up the mess left by his predecessor.
In the last year, Papa John’s stock has dipped to $45 a share from a high of $78, a nearly 30% drop. Papa John’s is the third largest pizza chain in the U.S., after Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza.
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5 comments:
I wasn't familiar with this. Pappy John's isn't my favorite, but I will go order a pie soon.
Who cares. Pizza shops are a dime a dozen. Go to pizza hut.
Politics and political correctness has never had any influence in where I buy pizza. What narrow minded, shallow, pea brain idiot would let that crap decide where they buy pizza? I buy pizza that I like to eat from where I like to buy it. No one is going to suggest that I buy pizza from one place or the other (other than in marketing commercials that talk about the product, and not the PC crowd's hate of the CEO). Papa John should have stood up to the PC crowd that miss-represented his comments, and he shouldn't have resigned his position. This "1984" madness must stop!
No. Bad pizza
Among chain pizzas I liked Papa John's best. Past tense.
When he spoke the truth, as he saw it, about how NFL's failure to discipline its employees was negatively impacting the business he built, the PC crowd ran him off. IIRC he still owns about 40% of the stock so he should clean house on the board and make his case to the American people. Anything less and it's a dead brand. I'm watching to see, and so are many others.
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