Franchise News

30-Year Industry Veteran Brings Legal Expertise to Growing Pizza Brand's Sophisticated Executive Team

Marco's Pizza, the nation's fastest-growing pizza brand*, appoints Kristin Corcoran to Vice President - Corporate Counsel. This news comes on the heels of the recent appointments of Gerardo Flores - Chief Development Officer, David Gladstone – VP of Construction, and Paul Williams – VP of Real Estate as Marco's strengthens its executive team while preparing for its next era of growth.

As a highly experienced legal professional, Corcoran has held top-level leadership roles in the industry for more than 30 years. Most recently, she served Of Counsel to DLA Piper, and previously was a Partner in Appleby & Corcoran, LLC, providing counsel to franchisor clients. Prior to her move to private practice, she was the Senior Associate General Counsel at Subway for 25 years. Corcoran brings a wealth of franchise and general business expertise to Marco's. In her new position, Corcoran provides valuable support to the Marco's legal team in day-to-day activities and works closely with the business units in her role serving as a legal advisor to the company.

"I am so pleased to have Kristin join our legal team. She is a highly accomplished attorney whose leadership, expertise, and business contributions have had a substantial, positive impact on the brands she's advised," said Marco's Pizza Sr. Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Todd Watson. "Her experience navigating franchise law in previous positions makes her highly qualified for this new role. She is the right person to support our franchise regulatory and compliance functions as we dive into new and exciting strategic initiatives."

Marco's franchise expansion continues to accelerate with more than 200 stores in various stages of development and more than 350 agreements signed. Company leadership is prioritizing investments in enhancing the franchise development program, new technology, personnel, strategic vendor partnerships, multi-channel national advertising, and more – all with an eye on maximizing franchisee profits while meeting the needs of today's modern customer.

"It's an exciting time to join the Marco's team," said Corcoran. "With multiple projects in development, franchise expansion surging, and new partnerships being formed, it's my goal to provide the legal advice needed to keep up with new trends, challenges, and opportunities, as Marco's continues on the fast track to pizza royalty."

The brand continues to rise in the ranks as Nation's Restaurant News Top 500 Report shows Marco's achieved the highest percent year-over-year sales change (+18.2%) when compared to the nation's top 4 pizza brands**, making Marco's the No. 5 pizza brand in systemwide sales in America.

With strong growth and performance, Marco's now sets its sights on becoming the No. 4 brand in pizza as it experienced a 12.8% increase in year-over-year Average Unit Volume (AUV), and the Top 50% of Marco's franchised stores generated $1,198,201 AUV for 2021***.

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or call 866-731-8209 to speak with Shannon Iverson, Vice President of Franchise Sales.

Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza brand in the United States*. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,100 stores in 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2022 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 4 in the Fastest Growing category on Restaurant Business' 2021 "Top 10 Fastest Growing Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include a high ranking on Newsweek's 2023 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, ranked No. 40 on QSR's Top 50 and has been featured five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.

*Marco's Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza brand based on year-over-year unit growth, according to 2021 NRN Top 500 U.S. Restaurant Ranking LSR Pizza Segment.

**Nation's Restaurant News partnered with Datassential and its Firefly data platform to provide an in-depth look at the performance across the Top 500 restaurant chains.

***Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2021. Based on fiscal year 2021, 146 of 389 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2022 FDD – please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.