The Pizza Company will launch another three stores by the end of this year, with a fourth slated for early 2017, as the Thai pizza restaurant chain looks to expand its presence in the provinces, a company executive said yesterday.

Tep Virak, general manager of Express Food Group (EFG), which holds the local franchise for The Pizza Company, said the planned expansion would bring the number of branches to 25 nationwide.

“By the end of this month we will have two new Phnom Penh locations, one in Poipet by the end of December, and our second location in Siem Reap is looking to be completed by early 2017,” he said, noting that there have been some construction delays.

The Pizza Company opened its first branch in Cambodia in 2005. Besides having a sizeable base of Phnom Penh outlets, the chain has opened branches in Sihanoukville and Battambang.

“The Pizza Company aims for, on average, opening three to four new branches every year,” he said. “And we have accomplished that from the support of our company and a growing budget for expansion.”

He noted that the Poipet location will target tourists who are crossing into Cambodia from Thailand by land, while the Siem Reap branch will thrive on the continual increase in tourist visits to nearby Angkor Wat and brand awareness campaigns.

“One of the reasons we have been able to continue to expand is that we provide good customer service and we are continually adding new dishes to the menu and renovating our existing facilities to be more family friendly,” Virak said.

Looking forward, the company has undertaken a feasibility study for a branch outlet in Kampong Cham that could materialise next year. The expansion could also see new branches in other provinces.

“However, finding the right locations is always really a problem,” Virak said. “We have to make sure that the market is ready when we decide to expand.”

EFG, the food and beverage arm of RMA Cambodia, is also the local franchise operator of US-based chains Krispy Kreme, Dairy Queen and Swensen’s, as well as UK-based Costa Coffee and South Korea’s BBQ Chicken.

“For all of our brands we are also looking to expand into malls like Parkson’s, but it is still not clear when that will actually be completed,” he said about the delayed $30 million Malaysian retail project that had been slated for completion by the end of the year.