Eland’s Pizza Mall soars in popularity with affordable price

Eland Group’s Pizza Mall at NC WAVE in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province [Photo provided by Eland Group]

Eland Group’s Pizza Mall, which has been selling pizzas for 9,900 won since 1994 for the past 30 years, has seen a surge in customers as price increases by franchise pizza brands has pushed the price of a single pizza to 40,000 won ($30.8), putting a burden on consumers.

According to Eland Group on Tuesday, Pizza Mall’s operating profit in 2021 increased by 46 percent compared with the previous year, followed by a 60 percent increase last year. In addition, in the first quarter of this year, it recorded a 108 percent increase, marking double-digit growth for three consecutive years. Sales revenue also showed a 20 percent increase in 2021 and a 7 percent increase last year.

In the first quarter of this year, sales increased by 48 percent. An Eland Group official explained, “It seems that consumer demand has shifted to Pizza Mall due to recent controversies over high pizza prices and a sharp decline in delivery consumption.”

Pizza Mall is the original low-priced pizza brand introduced by Eland Group when it first entered the restaurant business in November 1994. In fact, Pizza Mall has attracted a lot of attention as it offered their menu items that were 30 to 50 percent cheaper than existing pizza prices, causing a sensation with its budget-friendly pricing strategy.

According to a report by Maeil Business Newspaper dated Nov. 15, 1994, Pizza Mall offered the 13-inch, large Super Supreme Pizza, which was sold for 15,000 won by Pizza Hut Korea Ltd., for 9,900 won, leading to price discount competition not only in the pizza industry but also in the fast-food industry.

Even to this day, nearly 30 years later, Pizza Mall continues to sell some of their classic pizzas, such as Super Supreme pizza and Bulgogi pizza, for 9,900 won. The cumulative pizza sales to date amount to 37 million pizzas.

On the other hand, the current price of Pizza Hut’s large Super Supreme pizza, which was 15,000 won in 1994, has risen to 33,900 won. While Pizza Mall froze pizza prices for nearly 30 years, Pizza Hut’s pizza prices have more than doubled during that period.

“Recently, even low-priced pizza brands have increased their prices, and it costs about 40,000 to 50,000 won for a family of three to four to have pizzas,” said one consumer.

According to the consumer price trends for May by Statistics Korea, the dining-out price of pizza increased by 12.2 percent compared to the same month last year. This is due to consecutive price increases by pizza brands last year and this year. Mr. Pizza, which adjusted its prices by 2,000 won per product in February last year, raised the prices of its major menu items by 4 to 5 percent in February, marking the first increase in a year.

Domino’s Pizza Korea, which increased prices twice in January and August last year alone, raised prices of its major large-size pizzas by 2,000 won in just eight months. The representative menu, Super Deluxe, is currently sold for 28,900 won. Pizza Hut also increased the prices of its major pizzas by 1,000 won in March last year.

Pizza Mall currently operates 10 buffet-style stores and six specialty stores in major cities nationwide. Through these 16 stores, it achieved sales of approximately 15 billion last year. The pizzas sold in the specialty stores are priced at 9,900 won, 12,900 won and 15,900 won, depending on the product category.

The key factor that allowed Pizza Mall to maintain its prices is joint sourcing of ingredients. Pizza Mall receives high-quality ingredients at reasonable prices through integrated purchasing from Eland Group’s own brands, such as Eland Eats Co.’s buffet restaurant chain Ashley and retail chain Kim’s Club.