American-based Papa John's, the world's third largest pizza company, opened its 100th outlet on the Chinese mainland, at the Beijing Yansha Outlets Mall Store, on April 17, 2008.

Nigel Travis, President and CEO of Papa John's International, Inc at the press conference in Beijing

"In October 2003, with the slogan 'Better Ingredients, Better Pizza', we opened the first store in Shanghai, marking our presence in the Chinese mainland market," said Nigel Travis, President and CEO of Papa John's International, Inc. "We reached 100 stores in less than five years in 15 cities nationwide, a testament to the strong growth enjoyed by the American pizza chain. One day, we'll have more stores in China than in the United States."

According to Myles Felt, Papa John's Vice President International for Asia/ South Pacific (South Korea and China), India and the Middle East, more chain stores are scheduled to open in an additional nine municipalities and cities, including Tianjin, Chongqing, and Jinan, by the end of this year.

"The marketing and research and development division has constantly improved the products. For instance, our 3200 stores worldwide share six flavors of pizzas, while in stores here in China, you have more choices -- 12 new flavors are specially designed for Chinese customers. Moreover, we'll introduce a new pizza to echo the Beijing Olympic Games this August," said Felt.

"We strongly believe that the opening of the 200th store in China will be in less than five years," he added.

About Papa John's

Established by John Schnatter in 1983, Papa John's is the world's third largest pizza company, with more than 3,200 restaurants worldwide. Its headquarters are located in Louisville, Kentucky. It ranked No. 1 in terms of American consumer satisfaction among all the national pizza chains, for eight years consecutively. It made its presence felt in the Chinese mainland market in October 2003, when the first store opened in Shanghai.