Marco’s Pizza Franchise Costs $546K (2023 Profits & Stats)

Pizza restaurants are one of the most common fast food franchises, and for a good reason: strong market demand and low operating costs. But with so many competitors (Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Little Caesars to name a few), is a pizza franchise like Marco’s Pizza a good business?

Marco’s Pizza seem like a great investment indeed: with an investment of (only) $546,000 and $912,000 sales per year on average, it’s easy to see why Marco’s Pizza is very popular among franchisees.

In this article we’re looking at Marco’s Pizza’s latest Franchise Disclosure Document to understand how much you can really make with this business. Read on!

Key stats

Franchise fee	$25,000
Royalty fee	5.50%
Marketing fee	7.00%
Investment (mid-point)	$546,000
Average sales	$912,000
Sales to investment ratio	45.0x
Minimum net worth	$400,000
Minimum liquid capital	$100,000

What is Marco’s Pizza?

Marco’s Pizza is a leading American restaurant chain that specializes in Italian-American cuisine.

The chain store was founded by Pasquale “Pat” Giammarco in 1978 in Oregon, Ohio.

It serves pizza, subs, wings, salads, Cheezybread, Cinna Squares, pizza bowls, and co-branded Ghirardelli brownies. It offers deliveries or takeout, with other locations doing catering and dine-in.

Marco’s Pizza’s franchising journey started in 1979 and today, it has over 1,100 stores in the USA, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and India. It is now owned by Jack Butorac and has its headquarters in Toledo, Ohio.

Marco’s Pizza franchises pros and cons

Pros

• Comprehensive training: The brand trains its franchisees to help them establish, build, and promote their businesses without facing challenges. Their initial training consists of approximately 240 hours of on-the-job training and 74 classroom hours. After opening, the franchisor offers the franchisees on-the-job training as well as refresher courses when appropriate.
• Solid operations support: Marco’s brand supports and guides its franchisees through their franchising journey. Their team of experts helps franchisees with identifying and evaluating site locations and financing options. In addition, they give franchisees IT, safety and security, and operational support to help them execute the brand’s operational system efficiently and successfully run their restaurants.
• Growth potential: The brand has experienced huge growth, especially in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. It presents a lot of potential for franchisees looking for international market opportunities. Franchisees can easily penetrate the markets where the brand is seeking expansion, for instance, Canada and Mexico.
• Quality menu: The brand is known for its quality, fresh, never-frozen, and original Italian pizza, as well as the handmade crust and flavorful sauce. It also keeps improving its menu to maintain customers’ loyalty and meet changing tastes.
• Marketing planning and support: The brand gives its franchisees solid marketing and advertising support to create brand awareness and publicize their local stores. It provides national media, social marketing, ad templates, regional advertising, website development, email marketing, and a loyalty program app.
• Territory protection: The franchisor identifies an area surrounding an approved franchise store as its area of responsibility. As a result, it does not grant any franchise to conduct business or operate competing channels in the agreed-upon area.
• Discounts and incentives: The franchise offers discounts and incentives to selected investor groups such as first responders, military veterans, and multi-unit investors who qualify.

Cons

• Competition: Marco’s Pizza franchise faces tough competition in the pizza industry from big brands like Pizza Hut and Domino’s.
• No financing: The franchisor does not offer to finance its franchisees directly or indirectly. Also, it does not guarantee any note, lease, or obligation towards its franchisees.
• Not a part-time business: The business must be run on a full-time basis. Also, it requires franchisees to be fully active in the daily operations of their businesses.

Marco’s Pizza franchise costs

You would invest around $546,000 to open a Marco’s Pizza franchise.

The investment amount can vary as it is an average of the lowest ($286,852) and highest ($805,927) amounts. Generally, the investment amount can vary on the basis of your location, market price, etc.

Why will you pay this amount? Well, this amount covers all the startup costs needed for a restaurant business. To give you an idea, in addition to the $25,000 franchise fee, the investment amount also covers:

• Formation costs: real property, point of sale computers, equipment, fixtures, training expenses, signage, leasehold improvements, business licenses, deposits, pre-paid expenses, architectural and engineering, technology fee, delivery area, streets database for POS, and shape files for POS and OLO  platform maps, etc.
• Initial Marketing Fees: Brand launch program
• Operating expenses: Opening inventory, insurance, credit card
• processing, supplies, 3 months’ working capital, etc.

Type of cost	Investment amount
Initial franchise fee	$25,000
Formation costs	$211,786 – $679,427
Initial Marketing Fees	$15,500 – $25,500
Operating expenses	$34,566 – $76,000
Total	$286,852 – $805,927

Marco’s Pizza franchise fees

Marco’s Pizza franchise revenue

On average, a Marco’s Pizza franchise makes $912,000 in sales per year.

This number is the annual median net sales of the 827 franchised restaurants operating in 2022. When it comes to growth, Marco’s Pizza franchises are doing well: they increased by +13.4% revenue growth in 2021 vs. 2020 and by +2% in 2022 vs. 2021. Actually, sales have been steadily increasing over the past quarters:

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: This content has been made for informational and educational purposes only. We do not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the information presented in the article. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other professional advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, advertisement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction.

All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the article constitutes professional and/or financial and/or legal advice, nor does any information in the article constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content in this article before making any decisions based on such information or other content.