Company Background Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain. It operates franchises internationally. The company operates in the food industry and offers food items like pizzas, pastas, garlic breads, breadsticks, drinks, and desserts. It provides catering service and franchise opportunity. The company was founded in 1958 by Dan and Frank Carney and is based in Plano, Texas. It is a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc. (Pizzahut , 2015). Pizza Hut runs three different formats of restaurants – first is the family dining in restaurants, second is the delivery and carry on types, and third is where the first and second are merged together. Pizza Hut restaurants aim at providing the best quality product and service to its customers. The vision of the company at inception was to provide a special pizza eating experience and 55 years later, the company still prioritizes customer satisfaction above everything. The vision of the company is to be the number one pizza company in the world and the mission of the company is to bring favor to life. Pizza Hut’s objectives or “customer promise” as they call it, is to invent the most flavorful experiences and never be boring. The chain has 15,605 restaurants in 92 countries worldwide in 2014 (Yum, 2015). In China alone, there has been a 25% rise in the number of restaurants and 22% rise in the number in India (Yum, 2015). However, the largest number of chains is still in the US, which is the largest market for Pizza Hut. Situational Analysis How did the company start? Two brothers, Dan and Frank Carney, in Wichita, Kansas, started the company in 1958. In the fifties, a pizza parlor was a rarity in America, and when they opened one, it proved to be a successful business venture. Theirs was a humble venture with $600 lent to them by their mother and they partnered with John Bender. A year later they started opening other Pizza Hut restaurants and franchises. The company believed in a policy of aggressive marketing and it grew fast in the 60s. By 1966, Pizza Hut already had 145 franchises across US (Vlessing, 1998). In 1968, the company opened its first international restaurant, in Canada and by 1970 it had opened restaurants in Germany and Australia. Due to its fast expansion and aggressive marketing policy, the company had to undergo certain structural changes in order to sustain growth. Their advertising expenditure in the local market increased from $942000 in 1972 to $3.17 million in 1974 (Vlessing, 1998). The company merged in PepsiCo in 1977. Throughout the 80s, Pizza Hut bought new competitors and aggressively acquired those who threatened their number one position. Initially Pizza Hut faced local competition mostly from regional players like Shakey’s from Denver and Pizza Inn from Denver (Vlessing, 1998). The company faced strong growth through the 80s, expanding rapidly. However, in the 90s, there were challenges and in the early 90s, PepsiCo expanded into the emerging markets. By 1997, Pizza Hut operated in 90 countries around the globe. PESTEL Political Factors: Pizza Hut is an international restaurant chain and therefore face various regulatory and political turmoil occurring in various parts of the world. Political issues may include regulatory framework that affects the operations in a particular country. The business is open to risks that are inherent to international operations. They are susceptible to social and ethn