Business Case Study: Papa John Schnatter

In 1984, John Schnatter made a decision to invest money into his father’s business. Mick’s lounge was not doing well, and on the verge of bankruptcy. Schnatter had just graduated college at Ball State University, so he did not have any money. He came up with a plan to sell his prized possession, his 1972 Camaro. The decision was not an easy one, but he knew this would allow him to save his father’s lounge. Schnatter knew the lounge alone was not sustainable over a long period of time, so he came up with a solution. His idea was to purchase some used restaurant equipment, and begin delivering pizzas from the back of the bar. This was the beginning of a franchise. In this essay, we are going to discuss Papa John’s from a strategic perspective and some issues that have arose in recent years. …show more content…
In 1985, the very first Papa John’s was opened. The business model was very simple, and it revolved around the delivery or carry-out of high quality pizzas. After much success, Schnatter was “able to put his idea of building a better pizza chain – one that's focused on quality – into action”(Papa John’s, 2017). In 1986, Papa John’s officially became a franchisor, and by 1991, the 100th location had opened up. As of today, the company has about 3,000 locations operating in the United States and 30 other countries. Schnatter has took Papa John’s all the way to being the third largest pizza chain in the United