Eagle Boys

Eagle Boys
Private
Industry Restaurants
Founded Albury, New South Wales, Australia (1987 (1987))
Headquarters Annerley, Queensland, Australia
Key people
 Tom Potter, founder
Todd Clayton, CEO (2007–12)
Bruce Scott, CEO (2012–15)
Nick Vincent, CEO (2015–)
Products Italian-American cuisine
pizza · pasta · desserts
Number of employees
 Up to 3,500 (reported in February 2015)[1]
Parent NBC Capital
Website www.eagleboys.com.au

Eagle Boys is an Australian fast food chain specialising in pizza. With more than 160 stores throughout Australia, it is the third largest pizza chain in Australia, with 12% of the share of the country's pizza market recorded in June 2015.

Eagle Boys was founded in Albury, New South Wales by businessman Tom Potter in 1987. In 2007 NBC Capital, a Queensland-based venture capital group, bought Eagle Boys from Potter. At the pizza chain's peak, in 2013, more than 340 Eagle Boys stores were operating across Australia. Outlet numbers fell drastically between the end of 2013 and the end of 2014 to around 170.

Eagle Boys' major competitors are Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Pizza Capers and Crust.

History

1987–2007: the first 20 years

The first Eagles Boys store opened in Albury, New South Wales in 1987, a venture spearheaded by businessman Tom Potter in partnership with his mother, Barbara Potter, who guaranteed a $70,000 loan to enable him to open the store.[2] The store was initially called "Beagle Boys" after the Disney Beagle Boys, but Potter dropped the 'B' after a few months in operation, worrying that the naming may have been a copyright infringement.[3] Potter went on to build the business and become CEO of the chain.[4]

In 1989 Potter started recruiting franchisees.[5] Eagle Boys' national headquarters were opened in 1992 in the Brisbane suburb of Annerley.[6]

Eagle Boys set up in New Zealand in 1996 when Stallone's Pizza owner Gavin Cook agreed to merge with Eagle Boys to provide an established base in the South Island.[7] Rapid expansion saw the Eagle Boys chain grow to 54 national outlets in the country by early April 2000.[8] In 2000, all New Zealand stores were sold to Restaurant Brands for NZ$28m and converted to Pizza Hut outlets.[9]

The company developed an express system "Eaglexpress" between 1999 and 2002, to serve two minute "express" pizzas (limited range of four) between 5:30 and 8:00 pm, which was achieved by constantly remaking their four most popular pizzas and keeping them in a warmer for sale. Unsold pizzas were discarded after 30 minutes.[10] Between 2002, when the Eaglexpress concept was launched, and 2003, sales at the chain rose by around 40%.[11] The chain came to see the Eaglexpress two-minute pizza service and the its drive-through services as a "beachhead" to compete with its biggest fast-food competitors including Hungry Jack's and KFC.[12]

2007: handover to NBC Capital

In March 2007, Tom Potter handed his control of Eagle Boys on to NBC Capital, a Queensland-based venture capital group.[5] He retained some shares in the company, and worked in a consultancy role advising the chain on operations for 12 months.[13] By 2008, Potter retained less than 10% of the vote for corporate decision making and was no longer involved in operations.[14]

In late 2007, Eagle Boys began trialing an online ordering system and announced plans to enable customers to order online from all of its stores by February 2008.[15][16] By the end of 2008, the system was fully implemented.[17]

2008–2013: five years of fast growth

In July 2008, Eagle Boys entered into a deal to acquire the Pizza Haven chain across Australia.[18][19] The deal saw Eagle Boys move into Sydney and South Australia for the first time.[14] Between July 2008 and June 2009, Eagle Boys opened 56 stores—the fastest growth the chain had experienced in its history.[20]

In February 2010, Eagle Boys was named in BRW Magazine's Fast Franchise list for the first time.[21] By March 2011, Eagle Boys had more than 25 stores in Sydney.[22] It had also overtaken Pizza Hut to become the second largest pizza maker in Australia.[23] However, Pizza Hut regained second position by July 2014.[24]

CEO Todd Clayton departed Eagle Boys in 2012, he had been in the role since NBC Capital acquired a majority stake in 2007. At the time, the founder of NBC Bruce Scott stepped in as CEO.[25]

In July 2013, Eagle Boys commenced operations in Papua New Guinea.[26] Worldwide, stores numbered over 330 by September 2013.[27]

2014: media reports franchising issues

On 3 October 2014 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that former franchisees asserted that the current franchisor, NBC Capital, had stopped print and media advertising since purchasing the business. The number of stores was reported to have halved from 340 locations.[28][29] Franchise owners told media they were concerned at changes to the advertising mix, including the reduction of offline advertising activities.[30][31]

2015–16: plans for new growth

To capitalise on the benefits of cloud computing, Eagle Boys shifted its ordering system to Microsoft Azure in 2015.[32] Through providing improved website performance and uptime and providing more sophisticated performance metrics, the new hosting system should support more online orders, which the Eagle Boys IT chief says are worth 1.5 times the orders which are made in-store or by telephone.[33]

In May 2015, Eagle Boys announced it was aiming to expand with a plan for 50 outlets in India by the end of 2015.[34] The same month a franchisee opened an Eagle Boys store in Suva, Fiji.[35]

Eagle Boys appointed Nick Vincent as the new CEO in October 2015, replacing Bruce Scott.[36] Vincent had previously been the company's general manager of retail, since April 2014.[37]

Marketing

In 1992, Eagle Boys registered its "pink glow"—the pink look of its logo— with IP Australia, the Australian Government intellectual property office.[38][39] A customer survey in support of the company's application found people strongly associated the pink glow with Eagle Boys stores.[40] The distinctive colour scheme was designed to create a fun and upbeat feel.[41]

In 2007, Eagle Boys launched the "Vote 1 Full Size Large Pizza" campaign bringing to task its competitors for selling smaller pizzas.[42] Domino's had reduced the size of their large pizzas in mid-2007 and Pizza Hut had changed their sizing in late 2006.[43] The campaign produced a sales uplift of over 27%.[44]

In 2009, the pizza chain announced a $7 million advertising campaign, called the "Real" campaign, that reinforced its "Bigger, Better" slogan.[45] The campaign involved the VW "Real Mobile" driving around Australia offering Eagle Boys pizza and recording testimonials for a TV commercial.[46] Later in the year, Eagle Boys launched another campaign comparing its pizzas to those of its competitors, this time built around the "blind taste test" which found almost half of test subjects preferred Eagle Boys pizzas to those of pizzas from Domino's and Pizza Hut combined.[47]

In 2010, Eagle Boys launched a multimillion-dollar campaign "31 New Menu Items – Each One Delicious”.[48][49] The campaign was the first to use Eagle Boys' new phone name 1300 EAGLE BOYS.[50][51] New pastas were among the 31 new menu offerings,[52] Desserts were also included, among them a chocolate fudge mousse that received a Gold Medal at the 2010 Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show.[53] The menu was tested over a 12-month period ahead of the launch.[54] Eagle Boys told media it expected a 15% spike in sales on the back of the launch.[55] A gluten "friendly" base was also on the menu for the first time, with an Eagle Boys spokesperson claiming it was more transparent than claiming it could offer a gluten-free base—only food prepared in a gluten-free kitchen can make the claim that it is truly offering a gluten free range.[56] The chain also announced it would scale back its social media spend.[57]

In 2011, the chain released advertising "Our large pizzas are bigger than theirs" in another attempt to demonstrate their large pizza offered effectively an extra slice of pizza to their closest rival, Domino's.[58][59] Domino's chief executive, in response, told media that "value is not in the size of a pizza."[60] Eagle Boys recorded a 20% jump in sales in the first week of the campaign compared to the previous week.[61] The pizza chain also announced it would be supporting the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, with a plan to donate more than $200,000 over three years to the charity, starting with $1 from every dessert sold during Cerebral Palsy week in August 2011.[62] In July 2011, Eagle Boys received Halal accreditation for its Bexley store.[63]

Rebranding in 2013 as part of the "making pizza happy" campaign involved introducing a new logo along with new pizza boxes and uniforms.[64] The iconic eagle was dropped from the logo at time, with management citing pressure its client base to drop to eagle.[65] The company introduced a "happy bell" to ring when customers were having a good time—aiming for a happier feeling for the in-store experience.[66] The campaign was rolled out in stages, beginning in Far North Queensland, a decision an Eagle Boys spokesperson said was designed to pay homage to the chain's regional heritage.[67]

By 2014, around one-third of the pizza chain's marketing budget was directed to digital spend.[68] That year, the chain released a campaign leveraging off the release of Australian film Fat Pizza vs. Housos.[69][70][71] It also announced a partnership with streaming company Quickflix, offering customers an exclusive deal on a one DVD and streaming bundle package.[72] In 2014 the chain also donated more than 600kg of potatoes to food rescue charity OzHarvest.[73]

2015 saw Eagle Boys launch the first "store of the future" in Bundaberg. The concept store, with a design including exposed brickwork and recycled timber, was developed based on research carried out on customer preferences and behaviours.[74]

In March 2016, Eagle Boys launched a trial of "Virtual Drivethru" at several of their stores in the Townsville area. The technology enables customers to order their pizzas online, drive to the store and alert store team members that they have arrived by pushing a button so that staff can deliver their order to their customers' cars.[75]

Stores

More than 340 Eagle Boys stores were operating across Australia at the pizza chain's peak, in 2013.[29] Outlet numbers fell drastically between the end of 2013 and the end of 2014 to around 170.[29] As at July 2014, Eagle Boys is the third largest pizza chain in Australia,[76][77] with 12% share of Australia's pizza market.[78]

As at April 2016, Eagle Boys stores could be found in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The stores have a strong regional emphasis with most outlets located in non-metropolitan areas, including Bathurst, Shepparton and Mareeba.[79]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ryl, Marlena (1 February 2015). "Eagle Boys Soars with Microsoft Azure". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Saccotelli, Luisa (1 June 2003). "Pizza delivers Albury man million". Australian Broadcasting Commission. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  3. ↑ "The Pizza Wars". Food Strategy. 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Tom Potter, Saxton, archived from the original on 27 June 2014
  5. 1 2 Walker, Jacqui (30 November 2007). "Slice of the action". Smart Company. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Potter, Tom (30 October 2009), "Winning the pizza war: Eagle Boys Pizza", The Australian (News Corp), An edited extract from The Eagle Boys Pizza Story by Tom Potter, published by Messenger Publishing
  7. ↑ Lord, Simon (19 January 2011), What Happens When The Franchise Changes Hands?, Franchise New Zealand, archived from the original on 24 March 2015
  8. ↑ McClinchy, Aimee (14 April 2000). "Domino's eyes slice of pizza market". Share Chat. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "$28m pushes Eagle Boys off the pizza perch". The New Zealand Herald. 20 April 2000. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Eagle Boys launches world's first two-minute pizza system". Pizza Marketplace. 13 May 2002. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Instant pizza system boosting Eagle Boys' sales by 40%, chain claims". Pizza Martketplace. 23 March 2003. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Eagle Boys seek a slice of the action". The Age (Fairfax Media). AAP. 10 October 2005. Archived from the original on 29 June 2006.
  13. ↑ "Tom Potter and the Eagle Boys Pizza story". Franchise Business. 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015.
  14. 1 2 "The Eagle Boys rise". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). AAP. 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Eagles Boys Pizza go online with orders". News Limited. 7 December 2007. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Eagle Boys’ pizzas take flight in cyber space". Smart Company. 7 December 2007. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Ferre, James. "Pizza chain provides “design your own” option with online ordering". Archived from the original on 17 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Eagle Boys devours Pizza Haven". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). AAP. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012.
  19. ↑ Ferre, James (18 July 2008). "Eagle Boys acquires Pizza Haven". Australian Food News. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Eagle Boys knocks Pizza Hut off mantle". Business News Australia. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Eagle Boys franchise is named as one of the fastest growing franchises in Australia" (Press release). Eagle Boys. February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010.
  22. ↑ "The Eagle Boys take a big slice". News Limited. 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Eagle Boys’ giant pizza box sculpture". Australian Food News. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015.
  24. ↑ Cowie, Tom (18 July 2014). "Dominos, Pizza Hut fight for the position of big cheese". Australian Financial Review (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  25. ↑ McCullough, James (29 November 2012). "One slice less". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  26. ↑ Robin, Myriam (8 November 2013). "Pizza chain Eagle Boys eyeing a slice of Papua New Guinea". Smart Company. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
  27. ↑ Jones, Ashley (3 September 2013). "Pizza stores part of the family". The Queensland Times. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013.
  28. ↑ O'Brien, Natalie (2 October 2014). "Seeking a slice: Eagle Boys Pizza locked in legal battles". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Archived from the original on 7 October 2014.
  29. 1 2 3 O'Brien, Natalie (12 October 2014). "Eagle Boys Pizza blames troubles on franchisees". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Archived from the original on 13 October 2014.
  30. ↑ Keating, Eloise (6 October 2014). "“We have been hurt so much”: Trouble for Eagle Boys pizza franchises". Smart Company. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014.
  31. ↑ Ferguson, Adele (24 November 2015). "Class action on Eagle Boys' menu?". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Archived from the original on 23 November 2015.
  32. ↑ Kidman, Angus (3 February 2015). "The 10 Hours When Pizza Happens: Why Eagle Boys Switched To Azure". Lifehacker (Allure Media). Archived from the original on 3 February 2015.
  33. ↑ Cowan, Paris (3 February 2016). "Eagle Boys shifts ordering system to Azure". IT News (nextmedia Pty Ltd). Archived from the original on 5 October 2015.
  34. ↑ "Australia's pizza chain Eagle Boys seeks India expansion". Business Standard. 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  35. ↑ Baoa, Ranoba (22 May 2015). "Eagle Boys Pizza Opens". The Sun. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015.
  36. ↑ "Eagle Boys appoints new CEO". Inside Retail. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015.
  37. ↑ "What’s happening at Eagle Boys?". Franchise Business. 4 August 2014. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015.
  38. ↑ A Glowing Delivery, World Intellectual Property Organization, archived from the original on 7 September 2015
  39. ↑ Reid, Timbo, #154 Eagle Boys Pizza founder talks Guerrilla marketing, growing through innovation, how to define your price position. #sbbm, archived from the original on 1 July 2014
  40. ↑ IP Australia, IP strategy for a pizza business, Australian Government, archived from the original on 3 May 2015
  41. ↑ Givoni, Sharon (November 2005). "Making your mark" (PDF). Inside Retailing Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2015.
  42. ↑ "Eagle Boys takes aim at rivals". AdNews. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  43. ↑ "Size matters in pizza punch-up". News Limited. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015.
  44. ↑ BBS (2007), Eagle Boys Pizza Measure Up Campaign ( Eagle Boys Vote 1 for Full Size Large Pizza ), University of Technology Sydye, archived from the original on 28 February 2015
  45. ↑ "Eagle Boys splash out for new look". AdNews. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  46. ↑ "Eagle Boys launches new ad campaign". Franchise Business. 27 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  47. ↑ "$1.5m campaign claims Eagle Boys is better". AdNews. 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  48. ↑ "Eagle Boys Pizza launches its ‘biggest’ marketing campaign". mUmBRELLA. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 11 April 2011.
  49. ↑ Jennings, Heather (29 March 2010). "Eagle Boys launches national campaign". AdNews. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010.
  50. ↑ Eagle Boys pizza expects sales increase with new national number, Phone Names, 29 March 2010, archived from the original on 9 March 2015
  51. ↑ "31 New Menu Items – Each One Delicious". AdNews. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010.
  52. ↑ "Eagle Boys Pizza introduces new pastas". QSR Media (Charlton Media Group). 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011.
  53. ↑ "Eagle Boys wins gold for new chocolate fudge mousse". QSR Media (Charlton Media Group). 27 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011.
  54. ↑ "Eagle Boys launches biggest menu ever". Hospitality Magazine. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  55. ↑ "Eagle Boys launches new menu and "phone name"". Franchise Business. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  56. ↑ Ryan, Rosemary (8 April 2010). "Not-quite-gluten-free option from Eagle Boys". Hospitality Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015.
  57. ↑ Jennings, Heather (12 April 2010). "Eagle Boys to cut social media". AdNews. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010.
  58. ↑ Blight, David (29 July 2011). "Eagle Boys battle for market slice". AdNews. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  59. ↑ "Eagle Boys: our pizzas are bigger than Domino’s". mUmBRELLA. 13 July 2011. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015.
  60. ↑ Blight, David (12 October 2011). "Domino's unconcerned by Eagle Boys jibe". AdNews. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  61. ↑ "Eagle Boys new size campaign sees 20% jump in first week sales". QSR Media. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013.
  62. ↑ "Eagle Boys Donates $200000 To Cerebral Palsy". Business Opportunities. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011.
  63. ↑ "Eagle Boys Lands First Halal-accredited Pizza Store". Food Magazine. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012.
  64. ↑ "Eagle Boys unveils all-new look for the brand". QSR Media (Charlton Media Group). 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013.
  65. ↑ Foster, Sophie (3 January 2014). "Eagle eye for market" (PDF). The Courier Mail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2015.
  66. ↑ "7 things you need to know about Eagle Boys’ revamped branding". QSR Media (Charlton Media Group). 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014.
  67. ↑ "Eagle Boys' new look to push business mission of 'making pizza happy'". Retail Biz. 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015.
  68. ↑ Jones, Steve (16 September 2014). "Targeted digital approach sees Eagle Boys halve its media spend but achieve better results". mUmBRELLA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015.
  69. ↑ Brown, Alyssa (31 October 2014). "Campaign: Eagle Boys Teams Up With Fat Pizza and Housos Movie". B&T. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014.
  70. ↑ Jones, Steve (17 October 2014). "Eagle Boys forges marketing venture with Fat Pizza movie amid reports of franchisee unrest". mUmBRELLA. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015.
  71. ↑ "Eagle Boys powers Shazza & Dazza in Fat Pizza vs Housos partnership" (Press release). Eagle Boys. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015.
  72. ↑ "Aussie greats Eagle Boys and Quickflix combine for the love of pizza and movies" (Press release). Eagle Boys. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015.
  73. ↑ Keating, Eloise (27 June 2014). "Why Eagle Boys decided to give away 646kgs [sic] of potato". Smart Company. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014.
  74. ↑ "Eagle Boys serves up new look". News Mail. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015.
  75. ↑ Eagle Boys (16 March 2016). "Virtual Drivethru" (Press release). Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  76. ↑ "A pizza the action", The Daily Telegraph, 8 May 2007, archived from the original on 12 May 2007
  77. ↑ Cowie, Tom (18 July 2014). "Pizza war causes prices to fall like Domino's". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Archived from the original on 3 November 2015.
  78. ↑ "Domino’s Pizza Australia’s investors are enjoying real profits — but for how long?". News Corp. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015.
  79. ↑ Eagle Boys, Our Stores, retrieved 9 April 2014
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