Marian and Mike Ilitch, founders of the Little Caesars pizza
chain, are being inducted into the International Franchise
Association’s Hall of Fame in 2016. The entrepreneurial couple
received the award during the 56th IFA convention, which was held
from February 20 to February 23 in San Antonio, Texas.
According to a statement released by the association, their
Hall of Fame award is the most prestigious and oldest accolade
given by the IFA. It is presented to a member who represents the
best of the world of franchising, has made significant
contributions to the franchise community, and has helped the
advancement of franchising in general.
The Ilitches opened their first
business location in Garden City, Michigan, on May
8,1959. In 1962, they sold their first franchise business for
$5,000, and Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc. has since grown to
more than 4,000 locations. Back in the 1990s, the brand had more
than 5,000 locations, but financial issues forced the closure of
about half of them. The chain was able to rebound and
re-established itself in the market after implementing business
strategy changes, including its popular $5 "Hot-N-Ready" sale promo
in 2004.
Little Caesars' headquarters moved from the Detroit suburbs of
Farmington Hills to the City of Detroit in 1989 after the brand
renovated the famous Fox Theatre and its massive
186,000-square-foot space for offices. In 2014, the founding couple
announced that another chain headquarters, the Little Caesars
Global Resource Center, would be built in 2016 near the Fox Theatre
at Columbia Street and Woodward Avenue. The 240,000-square-foot
facility will have nine stories and a restaurant on its ground
floor.
A good portion of the $3.3 billion revenue earned by the
llitch family in 2015 was generated by Little Caesars. Those funds
are helping to cover the cost of a 50-block redevelopment around
the new $627.5 million hockey facility slated to open in 2017 for
the Detroit Red Wings, which are owned by the llitch family. The
couple bought the Red Wings in 1982 for $8 million and the Detroit
Tigers in 1992 for $85 million.
The chain and its franchisees, who work together in the
Independent Organization of Little Caesar Franchises, were also
famously part of a court fight in the 1990s that resulted in a
settlement that impacted the freedom of franchises, allowing them
the ability to buy supplies and good from an outside approved
vendor.
The Little Caesars Franchise Opportunity Today
Little Caesars is a globally recognized franchise
brand that holds around 14.7 percent of the U.S. pizza market and
is always looking to expand. Its 4,000-plus locations generated
$3.4 billion in gross sales for 2015, as reported by Pizza Today,
and it has stores in 18 international markets and all 50 U.S.
states.
Those who are interested in the Little Caesars franchise
opportunity can expect a franchisee fee of $20,000, with the total
investment ranging from $266,000 to $681,500 on average. The
royalty is 6 percent of weekly gross sales.
Learn more about fast
food franchises at FranchiseExpo.com
