The franchise holder in the Philippines for Canadian pizza chain Steveston Pizza is looking to expand in other Southeast Asian countries.
The BusinessWorld newspaper in Manila reported that Steveston Pizza Philippines CEO Richard C. Go said the company is aiming to roll out stores in Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
“Currently, I am talking to potential local partners in these three Asian countries,” Go said in a recent roundtable interview.
Steveston Pizza Philippines is the official licensee of Steveston Pizza Canada, which is based in the city of Richmond in British Columbia.
The original Steveston Pizza in Vancouver was started by Nader Hatami, a former top sous chef for Holland America Cruise Lines.
Go said there are no immediate plans to expand to the provinces. At present, there are three Steveston Pizza branches in Metro Manila.
Go, a Filipino-Canadian-Chinese, opened the first Steveston branch in Tomas Morato, Quezon City on April 26, 2013 to introduce Canadian artisan pizza products to Filipinos.
“I knew that it was good enough. It has given the company a great headstart,” he said in the BusinessWorld report.
From Tomas Morato, the restaurant transferred to UP Town Center, where it has remained among the top five performing stores since it opened.
In July, Go opened the second outlet at the Corinthian Gardens Clubhouse in Mandaluyong City, after he conducted market surveys and feasibility study for the spot.
“We ran our numbers and we see that it is actually the right product for the right market. It hit the bullseye. There are adequate customers,” he said.
Go said he expects the performance of the third branch, located at Circuit Makati, to improve as Ayala Land continues to develop the area.
“Now people in the Philippines understand what we’re trying to do here. We do pizzas in such a manner that we are trying to tell people that ‘this is the right way to do pizzas.’ We kind of elevate pizza making to a new level,” said Go in the BusinessWorld report.