December 21, 2010 // Franchising.com // TOLEDO, OHIO – Marco's Pizza, the nation's fastest-growing pizza company, topped off a phenomenal year of franchise growth with an Entrepreneur 'Franchise 500' list ranking of 127 – marking a jump of 73 spots over last year.
Marco's, with more than 220 locations in 17 states, 34 of which opened in 2010 alone, attributes much of the growth to proactively creating funding sources that allowed new franchise partners to open their stores.
"While many other chains were stagnant due to challenges getting loans through traditional sources, our team secured millions of dollars in alternative funding and developed creative financing programs that fueled our record growth," said Jack Butorac, Marco's Chief Executive Officer. "Our greatly improved Franchise 500 ranking from Entrepreneur Magazine tops off a banner 2010."
Now in its 32nd year, the 'Franchise 500' list is created annually by Entrepreneur Magazine and is determined based on a variety of criteria by Entrepreneur. This criteria includes ranking a company's financial strength and stability, growth rate, and size of the company's system. Additional factors that influence the Entrepreneur 'Franchise 500' include the number of years a company has been in business and the length of time they have been franchising, startup costs, litigation, percentage of terminations, and whether the company provides financing to entrepreneurs.
In 2010, Marco's Pizza was approved to receive up to $7.5 million in funding from Main Street Bank that allows franchisees who own at least one Marco's Pizza, or one unit of another franchise brand, with access to funds for opening new Marco's locations. This fund complements three additional Marco's Pizza financing programs created during the recession: a leasing program that will finance up to $200,000 in opening costs; a $5 million private equity fund for new stores in which Marco's invests up to $100,000 per restaurant; and the formation of a subsidiary called Marco's Assurance that provides a limited guarantee of bank loans to franchisees and pays to relocate certain stores.
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza (Marco's Franchising, LLC) is the fastest-growing pizza company in the U.S. (based on the number of stores signed into development since 2007). Marco's was founded in 1978 by Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and is committed to making Ah! thentic Italian pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate more than 220 stores in 17 states and the Bahamas. To inquire about franchise opportunities with Marco's Pizza visit www.marcos.com or e-mail dallen@marcos.com.
Marco's Pizza is one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands with 1,200 stores in 34 states, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. Marco's seeks multi-unit franchisees to join the brand both in the U.S. and Internationally.