Emerge acquired 30 Pizza Hut stores in Arizona on June 6th of this year, effectively taking over the market. A decision was made to first tackle the relocation of our Flagstaff store located in a 20-year-old building in need of major renovation. Moving from one location to a brand new building in another location in 90 days was very ambitious, especially during the Covid pandemic, but with huge amounts of support and engagement from every team member, we surpassed expectations with amazing results.
We focused on people development to ensure we build our bench so we can continue to move forward as a strong team. Local teams were trained in our core values and with our Emerge processes and tools. We were proud to be able to promote people from within and include the new family in the development of their new store. Despite the aggressive timetable, was very exciting for the local team and they didn’t hesitate to face the changes with optimism as their morale rocketed.
As is often the case, large operations run into issues that can potentially delay a tightly scheduled project. The relocation experienced some minor technical issues that were addressed and resolved right away allowing the team to be ready to go, successfully opening on September 22, as planned. This was the fastest start for Emerge, taking over a brand new market and relocating a store to a brand new building in 90 days.
Great job Emerge team!