With its network of 308 locations, New York Pizza reaches approximately 75% of Dutch households. To keep that network healthy and continue growing in various markets, including Germany, the pizza chain relies on RetailSonar's data. "RetailSonar is the compass for shaping our expansion plans."
COO Steffen van Dijk has been involved with New York Pizza for over 10 years, growing from Real Estate and Expansion Consultant to COO of New York Pizza, which also includes its own wholesale operation and dough factory.
With around 150 franchisees, the pizza delivery brand is firmly anchored in the Dutch market. Yet there is always room for optimization. “We want to maintain our healthy store network. RetailSonar’s data is crucial for that. We base many decisions on that data, to see whether we are getting the maximum out of an area.”
From Excel to automated analysis
Before New York Pizza worked with RetailSonar, everything was done in Excel. “We pulled all postcode characteristics from CBS, layered formulas on top and drew catchment areas on a postcode map. That’s how we grew for the first 5 years.” The major drawback was that adjacent areas were difficult to interpret and every analysis demanded precious time.
“In the past, it took me 2 hours to map the revenue potential of a location; now it takes less than 10 minutes.”
Everything New York Pizza used to do manually is now fully automated thanks to RetailSonar. “That saves a lot of hours, a lot of energy and delivers new insights we simply didn’t have before. In the past, it took me 2 hours to map the revenue potential of a location. Now it takes less than 10 minutes.”
Data-driven expansion
“Thanks to RetailSonar, we now have the revenue potential mapped for every address in the Netherlands. Yet human insight remains indispensable. “You must always keep using your own common sense. Tourist areas with few permanent residents are, for example, very difficult to estimate. Based purely on data, you get a result that doesn’t make you happy, but there are always factors at play that aren’t in the system. Meanwhile, New York Pizza’s revenue forecasting model has a wonderful level of accuracy, which is more than sufficient for us.”
“The person behind the counter”
Outstanding entrepreneurship plays a major role in the success of a location. “If you have two strong delivery brands in a relatively small area and you put a successful entrepreneur there, you can just edge out the competitor that isn’t performing as well at that moment.” RetailSonar helps to make this visible: when the expected revenue is not achieved, the data provides a starting point to identify the underlying cause.
Pizza slices: footfall as key data
Alongside Delivery, New York Pizza is working on reinventing its ‘heritage’: the Pizza Slice concept. “In 1993 we started at the Spui in Amsterdam with pizza slices you can consume on the spot. That side of the business was somewhat overlooked for a while. After an inspiration trip to New York, we breathed new life into this concept.”
Different rules apply to Slice compared to Delivery. Footfall is by far the most important factor. “RetailSonar now has a new technique for this, based on mobile app data. With that, you can much more easily - even for every moment of the day, the week and the year - map visitor flows. That is data we had a great need for.”
“RetailSonar is essential for making choices: where should our energy go, and where shouldn’t it?”
Expansion into Germany
With 20 locations in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, New York Pizza is taking its first steps in Germany too. The ambition is to grow from NRW outwards like an oil slick. “In theory, you could grow to several hundred stores there.” The platform is indispensable for this expansion as well. “RetailSonar is essential for making choices: where should our energy go, and where shouldn’t it. And which things can be substantiated with the available data points.”
The German team is now also actively working with the platform. “It’s fantastic that they can simply get started with it right away.”
More than a tool
Steffen experiences the collaboration with RetailSonar as accessible and constructive. “Especially at the beginning it took some getting used to - you need to learn the system. But the onboarding is pleasant. And if there are questions, or if things are unclear, there is always a quick line of contact. When we ask “Can you take a look?” there is a fast response. And as the platform continues to develop, the collaboration grows along with it. You gradually get better together.”
Jelmer Versloot, who has been involved as a consultant since the start of the partnership in 2021, can confirm this. “From the very start in 2021, we worked together to find the best way to optimally align our platform with New York Pizza’s delivery concept. Through this close and enjoyable collaboration, we have grown together with the New York Pizza team into our current QSR solution.”