Hell trio return to pizza chain

Founders of Hell Pizza Callum Davies (as a cardboard cutout, top) Stu McMullin and Warren Powell aim to lift quality. Photo / Greg Bowker

Hell is back in its original position. That's not somewhere below Purgatory, but in the hands of its founding fathers.

Warren Powell, Callum Davies and Stu McMullin, who first opened Hell Pizza in 2003, have bought the New Zealand franchise back from the local owners of Burger King.

In a well-publicised move, the trio sold Hell to Tasman Pacific Foods Group for $15 million in 2006.

After expanding into Australia and Britain they returned to their roots and made an approach to Tasman Pacific, picking up the 61-strong local franchise for what they term "market value".

Privately-owned Tasman Pacific has not had the happiest time with Hell Pizza, enduring the recession, a revolt by franchisees over the cost of ingredients and other issues, and having to lower prices.

It was reported last year that Tasman Pacific was trying to offload both Hell and Burger King.

Retail operations director Glenn Corbett, also a shareholder in the business, said not all the reports were accurate.

"The truth is that we have been exploring options for investment capital to the future."

He said the company saw potential to expand the number of Burger King outlets from 71 to more than 100, and the deal with the Hell founders allowed it to focus on one business.

Corbett said Burger King's sales growth had been in the "high single digits" during the March year.

Hell founder Powell believed Tasman Pacific had tried to meet the market by offering lower prices.

The Hell trio would take the opposite tack, lifting quality and offering novelties such as crocodile pizza.

He and partner McMullin said Hell was never intended to be just pizza and in the early days they delivered everything from curries to milkshakes. They planned to start integrating other products back in.

"You've got to educate the market, you can get great tasting food at home," Powell said.

In Australia Hell was able to charge the equivalent of $25 for a pizza and the recession offered opportunities, they said.

"In New Zealand a lot of people who would normally go out and have a restaurant meal for $70-$80 will now instead go to Hell and spend $40-$50," McMullin said.

They would expand but also potentially consolidate, as they wanted "good happy franchisees in the right places".

The chain became famous for its shock marketing tactics - it withdrew an ad featuring Sir Edmund Hillary dancing on his own grave, and fell foul of the Advertising Standards Authority for a condom mailout to promote its Lust pizza.

Powell promised a return to the provocative advertising but said it wouldn't be "shock for shock's sake".

Meanwhile many franchisees have welcomed the trio back.

Tim Benest of the Glenfield outlet said the soul and passion of the original business had been lacking.

"It seemed like we all went back to being employees working for a large corporation."