pizza hut cookie dessert
Yum! Brands
Pizza Hut's sales have been declining for over a year. 
The nation's largest pizza chain "appears to be losing favor with American diners," writes Venessa Wong at Bloomberg Businessweek. 
Meanwhile, competitors Domino's and Papa John's have enjoyed single-digit boosts in sales for the past few quarters. 
Why is Pizza Hut faring so much worse than competitors?
According to Wong, the new menu items have failed to entice customers. 
Pizza Hut's latest promotions include two variations of a cheese stuffed crust pizza, and a BBQ pizza endorsed by country singer Blake Shelton. 
The brand just launched a new Hershey's chocolate-chip dessert pizza. 
Domino's has an endless stream of new menu items, most recently the breaded specialty chicken enhanced with cheese and sauces. 
Papa John's has historically relied on promotions and its loyalty program to drive sales. 
Pizza Hut's new menu items aren't enough to improve sales, and the company's current promotions strategy isn't improving the brand. 
David Novak, CEO of parent company Yum! Brands, said that Pizza Hut will work to improve its marketing and menu over the next year. 
"We expect to show significant progress in 2015," Novak told analysts and investors.