Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational
pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960
and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is
Delaware-domiciled and headquartered at the
Domino's Farms office park in Ann Arbor Township, near
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
.
As of 2018, Domino's had approximately 15,000 stores, with 5,649 in the United States, 1,500 in India, and 1,249 in the United Kingdom.
Domino's has stores in over 83 countries
and 5,701 cities worldwide.
History
1960s–2010s
In 1960,
Tom Monaghan
Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American entrepreneur and Philanthropy, philanthropist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He also owns the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, and owned the Det ...
and his brother, Jim, took over the operation of DomiNick's, an existing location of a small pizza restaurant chain that had been owned by Dominick DeVarti, at 507 Cross Street (now 301 West Cross Street)
[Jim Leonard, ''Living the Faith: A Life of Tom Monaghan'' (University of Michigan Press, 2012) pp41-55] in
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...
, near
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...
.
The deal was secured by a $500 down payment, after which the brothers borrowed $900 to pay for the store. The brothers planned to split the work hours evenly, but Jim did not want to quit his job as a full-time postman to keep up with the demands of the new business. Within eight months, Jim traded his half of the business to Tom for the
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
they used for pizza deliveries.
By 1965, Tom Monaghan had purchased two additional pizzerias; he now had a total of three locations in the same county. Monaghan wanted the stores to share the same branding, but the original owner forbade him from using the DomiNick's name. One day, an employee, Jim Kennedy, returned from a
pizza delivery
Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria or pizza chain delivers a pizza to a customer. An order is typically made either by telephone or over the internet, in which the customer can request pizza type and size, and other items to be ...
and suggested the name "Domino's".
[ Monaghan immediately loved the idea and officially renamed the business to Domino's Pizza, Inc. in 1965.][
The company logo originally had three dots, representing the three stores in 1965. Monaghan planned to add a new dot with the addition of every new store, but this idea quickly faded, as Domino's experienced rapid growth.][ Domino's Pizza opened its first franchise location in 1967 and by 1978, the company had expanded to 200 stores.] In 1975, Domino's faced a lawsuit by Amstar Corporation, the maker of Domino Sugar, alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. On May 2, 1980, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
found in favor of Domino's Pizza. During the lawsuit, Domino's opened fifteen new stores under the name Pizza Dispatch, while also converting other stores to the name.
In 1998, after 38 years of ownership, Monaghan announced his retirement, sold 93 percent of the company to Bain Capital
Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
, Inc. for about $1 billion, and ceased being involved in day-to-day operations of the company. A year later, the company named Dave Brandon
David Allen Brandon (born May 15, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of Toys "R" Us.
From 1999 to 2009, he served as the president and chief executive officer of Domino's, and from 2010 to 2014, he was ...
as its CEO.
Leaning Tower of Pizza
The Leaning Tower of Pizza was a proposed 30-story slanted skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
that would have housed Domino's Pizza's operations at its Domino's Farms campus near Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
. In the mid-1980s, Monaghan asked Taliesin Associated Architects, the inheritors of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
's practice, to erect a structure based on an un-built tower that Wright designed in 1956 for Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
called the Golden Beacon. Sometime during the planning of the tower, Monaghan and the Taliesin architects parted company, allegedly because both parties felt the project may have not served justice to the spirit of Wright's architecture.
Monaghan then went to Gunnar Birkerts, the architect of Domino's unusual half-mile (800 m) long headquarters office building who came up with a design for a tower that would rise at a 15-degree angle with a swooping top reminiscent of the forms of Wright's late work. Birkerts' design, no doubt, had serious intent, but would immediately and forever be dubbed with the nickname "The Leaning Tower of Pizza" after Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( ), or simply the Tower of Pisa (), is the , or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable Foundation (engineering), foundation. The tower is on ...
. The structure was never built but a tall scale model stands at the proposed site on Domino Pizza headquarters in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, outside of Ann Arbor.
International expansion
On May 12, 1983, Domino's opened its first international store, in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. That same year, Domino's opened its 1,000th store, at 8086 E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...
. In 1985, the chain opened their first store in the United Kingdom in Luton
Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census.
Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
. Also, in 1985 Domino's opened their first store in Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan. In 1993, they became the second American franchise to open in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
and the first one to open in Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, under the direction of entrepreneur Luis de Jesús Rodríguez. By 1995, Domino's had expanded to 1,000 international locations. In 1997, Domino's opened its 1,500th international location, opening seven stores in one day across five continents. By 2014, the company had grown to 6,000 international locations and was planning to expand to pizza's birthplace, Italy; this was achieved on October 5, 2015, in Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, with their first Italian location. CEO Patrick Doyle, in May 2014, said the company would concentrate on its delivery model there. After having faced tough competition from local restaurants and falling behind on its debt obligations, Domino's exited the country in 2022.
In 1995, Domino's Pizza entered China through the Pizza Vest Fast Food Group, which also owned the rights to operate Domino's Pizza in eleven Southeast Asian countries.
In February 2016, Domino's opened its 1,000th store in India. Outside the United States, India has the largest number of Domino's outlets in the world.
China
The Chinese subsidiary is known as Domino's Pizza China ().
As of October 2019, Domino's Pizza China has about 250 stores in nine cities: Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
(about 75 stores), Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
(about 100 stores), Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
, Tianjin
Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...
, Nanjing
Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yang ...
, Suzhou
Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.
Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...
, Wuxi
Wuxi ( zh, s=无锡, p=Wúxī, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu, China. As of the 2024 census, it had a population of 7,495,000. The city lies in the southern Yangtze delta and borders Lake Tai. Notable landmarks include Lihu Park, the Mt. Lings ...
, and Hangzhou
Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
. The 200th store in Shenzhen, was also the 10,000th Domino's store internationally.
The first mainland China store was located in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone 4 and the first Beijing location opened in Haidian District
Haidian () is a northwest urban district of Beijing, bordering Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng and Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai.
It is in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang), and is home ...
in May 1997. In December 2006, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
's Jinghua Hotel Group invested NT$500 million to acquire the rights for Domino's Pizza in Taiwan and Beijing. In 2017, Dash Brands Ltd., a foreign investment company specializing in restaurant chains, obtained the exclusive rights for Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
.
In China over 90% of orders are placed online. Orders can be made in the stores and on the company website, via app, and through the messaging app WeChat
WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...
. Despite insisting that its own distribution system has greater advantages in safeguarding service quality and data retention, Domino's has already opened up a model of cooperation with third-party take-out platforms such as Ele.me and Meituan
Meituan ( zh, p=Měituán, c=美团, literally "beautiful group"; formerly Meituan–Dianping, literally "beautiful group–reviews") is a Chinese shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services including entertainment ...
.
Domino's Pizza China has offered American-style potato bacon pizza, crayfish crispy-and-tender chicken pizza, durian pulp pizza, and salted egg-yolk pizza, as well as Sichuan pepper-flavor tender chicken drumsticks.
2000s–present
In 2004, after 44 years as a privately held company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...
, Domino's began trading common stock on the New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
under the ticker symbol "DPZ". Industry trade publication ''Pizza Today'' magazine named Domino's Pizza "Chain of the Year" in 2003, 2010, and 2011. In a simultaneous celebration in January 2006, Domino's opened its 5,000th American store in Huntley, Illinois
Huntley is a village in McHenry and Kane counties, Illinois, United States. As of the 2021 census it had a population of 28,008. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Huntley has a total area ...
, and its 3,000th international store in Panama City, Panama
Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province ...
, making 8,000 total stores for the system. In August 2006, the Domino's location in Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland, became the first store in Domino's history to hit a turnover of $3 million (€2.35 million) per year. , Domino's has 8,200-plus stores worldwide, which totaled $1.4 billion in gross income.
In August 2012, Domino's Pizza changed its name to simply Domino's (the parent company is still called Domino's Pizza). At the same time, Domino's introduced a new logo that removed the blue rectangle and text under the domino in the logo, and changed the formerly all-red domino to be blue on the side with two dots and red on the side with one dot. This was done because the company wanted to "expand" menu choices rather than simply rely on its traditional pizza.
In April 2022, Domino's Italy franchise operator EPizza SpA filed for bankruptcy at a Milan court after two years of declining sales caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy. In addition, Domino's Pizza faced competition from local pizza chains and restaurants, which had begun using food delivery app services such as Glovo, Just Eat
Just Eat is an online food order and delivery platform. It was founded in 2001 in Kolding, Denmark, as a food delivery company, and later headquartered in London, United Kingdom, from 2006 (as Just Eat plc) until it was purchased by Netherla ...
and Deliveroo
Deliveroo is a British multinational online food delivery company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It operates in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. It formerly ...
. The reason for the failure, however, is mainly due to the fact that the customer rating of Domino's outlets is very low in Italy, which explains the difficulty of competing with the high quality of Italian pizzas. After the 90-day grace period expired in July 2022, Domino's closed all its Italian stores on 20 July.
On December 12, 2024, Domino's announced that it would transfer its stock to the Nasdaq Global Select Market
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
which took effect on January 2, 2025 at the stock market open. The company retained the ticker symbol "DPZ".
Domino's has announced on February 7, 2025, that it plans to close over 200 stores worldwide, 172 of them just in Japan, where Domino's Pizza Japan operates 1000 stores. The decision comes after CEO and Managing Director Mark van Dyck took the reigns of the company. The reason given for the closures, is low sales in the selected stores. Of all the markets that include the brand, Australia - New Zealand was the only market to report positive growth. With the closures, Domino's expects to reduce costs by approximately 9.8 million dollars.
Products
The Domino's menu varies by region. The current Domino's menu in the United States features a variety of Italian-American
Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
main and side dishes. Pizza is the primary focus, with traditional, specialty, and custom pizzas available in a variety of crust styles and toppings. In 2011, Domino's launched artisan-style pizzas. Additional entrees include pasta
Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...
, bread bowls, and oven-baked sandwiches. The menu offers chicken and bread side dishes, as well as beverages and desserts.
From its founding until the early 1990s, the menu at Domino's Pizza was kept simple relative to other fast food restaurants, to ensure efficiency of delivery. Historically, Domino's menu consisted solely of one style of pizza crust in two sizes (12-inch and 16-inch), eleven toppings, and Coca-Cola as the only soft drink option.
The first menu expansion occurred in 1989, with the debut of Domino's deep dish. Its introduction followed market research showing that 40% of pizza customers preferred thick crusts. The new product launch cost approximately $25 million, of which $15 million was spent on new sheet metal pans with perforated bottoms. Domino's started testing extra-large-size pizzas in early 1993, starting with the 30-slice, yard-long "The Dominator".
Domino's tapped into a market trend toward bite-size foods with spicy "Buffalo Chicken Kickers", as an alternative to Buffalo wings, in August 2002. The breaded, baked, white-meat fillets, similar to chicken fingers, are packaged in a custom-designed box with two types of sauce to "heat up" and "cool down" the chicken.
In August 2003, Domino's announced its first new pizza since January 2000, the "Philly Cheese Steak Pizza". The product launch also marked the beginning of a partnership with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association
National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) is an American trade association and lobbying group working for American beef producers.
Advertising campaign
National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the group responsible for the ad campaign run in t ...
, whose beef Check-Off logo appeared in related advertising. Domino's continued its move toward specialty pizzas in 2006, with the introduction of its "Brooklyn Style Pizza", featuring a thinner crust, cornmeal baked in to add crispness, and larger slices that could be folded in the style of traditional New York-style pizza.
In 2008, Domino's once again branched out into non-pizza fare, offering oven-baked sandwiches in four styles, intended to compete with Subway's toasted submarine sandwich
A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, is a type of American cold or hot sandwich made from a submarine roll (an elongated bread roll) that is split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments.
Although "subma ...
es. Early marketing for the sandwiches made varied references to its competition, such as offering free sandwiches to customers named "Jared", a reference to Subway's spokesman of the same name.
The company introduced its "American Legends" line of specialty pizzas in 2009, featuring 40% more cheese than the company's regular pizzas, along with a greater variety of toppings. That same year, Domino's began selling its "BreadBowl Pasta" entree, a lightly seasoned bread bowl baked with pasta inside, and the "Lava Crunch Cake" dessert, a crunchy chocolate shell filled with warm fudge. Domino's promoted the dessert by flying in 1,000 cakes to deliver at Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center near Mount St. Helens in Washington state
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
.
In 2010, shortly after the company's 50th anniversary, Domino's changed its pizza recipe "from the crust up", making significant changes in the dough, sauce, and cheese used in their pizzas. Their advertising campaign admitted to earlier problems with the public perception of Domino's product due to taste issues.
In September 2012, Domino's announced it was introducing pan pizza
Pan pizza is a pizza baked in a deep dish pan or sheet pan. Turin-style pizza, Italian tomato pie, Sicilian pizza, Greek pizza, Chicago-style pizza, and Detroit-style pizza may be considered forms of pan pizza. Pan pizza also refers to the t ...
to the menu on September 24, 2012, and the original Deep Dish pizza introduced 23 years prior was discontinued in favor of the new pan pizza.
In December 2013, Domino's Pizza in Israel unveiled its first vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
pizza, which uses a soy-based cheese substitute supplied by the UK company VBites.
Franchises
Domino's Pizza, as of September 2018, has locations in the United States (including the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, and the United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...
), in 83 other countries, including overseas territories such as the Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...
, and states with limited recognition, such as Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
and Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...
. It has its stores in 5,701 cities worldwide (2,900 international and 2,800 in America) In 2016, Domino's opened its 1,000th store in India. As of the first quarter of 2018, Domino's had approximately 15,000 stores, with 5,649 in the United States, 1,232 in India, and 1,094 in the United Kingdom.
In most cases, Domino's has master franchise agreements with one company per country, but three companies have acquired multiple master franchise agreements, covering multiple countries:
* Domino's Pizza Israel was founded in 1990, and opened their first branch in 1993. They are operated by Elgad Pizza. As of August 2014, there are 33 branches throughout the state. There are four kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...
franchises.
* The rights to own, operate, and franchise branches of the chain in Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Cambodia are currently owned by Australian Domino's Pizza Enterprises
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (DPE) is the largest pizza chain in Australia in terms of network stores numbers and network sales, as well as the largest franchisee for the US Domino's brand in the world. DPE is the exclusive master franch ...
, having bought the master franchises from the parent company in 1993 (Australian and New Zealand franchises). The Australian company also acquired several European and Asian franchises between 2013 and 2022. It acquired the Danish operations in 2019 but liquidated them in 2023.
* The master franchises for the UK and Ireland were purchased in 1993 by the British publicly listed Domino's Pizza Group
Domino's Pizza Group plc is a United Kingdom-based master franchise of international fast food pizza delivery chain Domino's. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The Domino's ...
(DPG), which acquired the master franchise for Germany in 2011, and Switzerland, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
, and Luxembourg in August 2012 by buying the Swiss master franchise holder, with an option to acquire the Austrian master franchise as well. DPG opened its first Swedish location near the Mobilia shopping mall in Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
in December 2016; three years later, in 2019, they announced that they would be selling all of their current businesses in the country.
* In Latin America, the first franchise was opened in 1988 in Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. During the next years, Domino's Pizza started operations in Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
(1989), Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
(1991), Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
(1992), Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
(1993), Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
and Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
(1995). However, due to problems in administration and after several cases of unhealthiness, the Domino's Peruvian franchise closed in 2015, and reopened one year later with new owners.
* The master franchises for India, Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
are currently owned by the Indian company Jubilant FoodWorks. India is the largest international market for Domino's outside its home market, being the only country to have over 1,000 Domino's outlets. With the first store opening in Delhi in 1996, the company operates 1,362 stores across 264 Indian cities as of 2018.
* In Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
, the franchises for Domino's Pizza are co-owned by Jubilant FoodWorks and Golden Harvest Limited, forming 'Domino's Pizza Bangladesh Limited'. In this entity, Jubilant FoodWorks is the majority shareholder and owns 51% of the company, while the rest of the share is owned by Golden Harvest Limited. The first store in Bangladesh opened in February 2019.
* As of July 27, 2020, Domino's Pizza opened in downtown Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
, Croatia.
* As of 2020, Domino's Pizza opened 550 stores in Turkey.
* In Italy, Domino's declared bankruptcy closing all its stores.
* In Russia, DP Eurasia announced that they would be declaring bankruptcy for its Russian business and would be closing all of its locations in Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The Russian network was bought by rapper Timati
Timur Ildarovich Yunusov (; born 15 August 1983), better known by his stage name Timati (), is a Russian rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur.
Biography
Early life
Timur Ildarovich Yunusov (, ) was born on 15 August 1983 i ...
in August 2023. After the sale, it changed its name to Domиno Pizza.
* As of November 2022, Domino's Pizza opened in Montevideo, Uruguay
Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern coa ...
, being the franchise's first location in the Southern Cone
The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pac ...
, and announcing the plan of opening 20 stores in this city in the next five years.
* In Central Asia, Domino's Pizza opened its first franchise in May 2024 in Tashkent
Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
(Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
).
Sales
There are currently 6,157 total Domino's units in the US, and of those 5,815 of those are franchised units. In 2018, the Average Weekly Unit Sales (AWUS) for franchised units was $22,045, showing a consistent increase over the past five years. Per year, this amounts to an average of over a million dollars in sales. Domino's EBITDA
A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...
was 15.0% for stores making more than $25,000. The vast majority of stores fell under this category, over 1,500 units. According to Domino's 2019 income statement, their net income was just over $400,000. The initial franchise fee for a Domino's franchise is $10,000, the royalty fee is 5.5% of the store's weekly sales, and the advertising payment is 4% of the store's weekly sales.
Advertising
In late 1986, Domino's was well known for its advertisements featuring a slapstick character called the Noid, created by Group 243 Inc. who hired Will Vinton Studios to produce the television commercials that featured the character. The character was designed to be the personification of any and all possible unsatisfactory experiences when having pizza delivered; as such, the catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
associated with the commercials was "Avoid the Noid". The ad campaign gained notoriety, however, in 1989, when a man named Kenneth Lamar Noid, believing the mascot to be an imitation of him, held two Domino's employees hostage in Chamblee, Georgia
Chamblee ( ) is a city in northern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. The population was 30,164 as of the 2020 census.
History
The area that would later become Chamblee was originally dairy farms. During the late n ...
. The employees escaped while Noid ate a pizza he had ordered. Noid was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and acquitted due to insanity, and later committed suicide in 1995. Contrary to popular belief, Domino's has stated that the retirement of the Noid ad campaign was not a result of the hostage situation. The Noid was briefly brought back for a week in 2011 in an arcade-style game on the Domino's Facebook page. The person with the top score received a coupon for a free pizza.
Due to a glitch on the Domino's website, the company gave away nearly 11,000 free medium pizzas in March 2009. The company had planned the campaign for December 2008 but scrapped the idea and never promoted it. The redemption code to receive the pizzas was never deactivated, however, and resulted in the free giveaway of the pizzas across the United States after someone discovered the promotion on the website by typing in the word "bailout" as the redemption code and then shared it with others on the Internet. Domino's deactivated the code on the morning of March 31, 2009, and promised to reimburse store owners for the pizzas.
Domino's sponsored CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs.
A handcart ...
's Doug Shierson Racing, which was driven by Arie Luyendyk and won the 1990 Indianapolis 500. In 2003, Domino's teamed up with NASCAR for a multi-year partnership to become the "Official Pizza of NASCAR". Domino's also sponsored Michael Waltrip Racing
Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...
and driver David Reutimann during the 2007 season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States.
The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
.
In June 2018, Domino's announced that it had started a project to pave over cracks and pothole
A pothole is a pot-shaped depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affecte ...
s on roads in the United States called "Paving for Pizza" to prevent their pizzas from being ruined, giving cities and towns grants for road repairs. The company had reached an agreement with four cities and towns, including Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
; Bartonville, Texas; Athens, Georgia
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
; and Milford, Delaware
Milford is a city in Kent and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 11,190 people and 4,356 households in the city.
The Kent County portion of Milford is part of the Dover m ...
, to pave their roads. The paved sections feature the Domino's logo along with the slogan "OH YES, WE DID".
30-minute guarantee
Beginning in 1973, Domino's Pizza offered a guarantee to customers their pizza would be delivered within 30 minutes of placing an order or they would receive the pizza free. This guarantee was changed to $3 off in 1987. In 1992, the company settled a lawsuit brought by the family of an Indiana woman who had been killed by a speeding Domino's delivery driver, paying the family $2.8 million. In another lawsuit in 1993, a woman who was injured when a Domino's delivery driver ran a red light and collided with her vehicle was awarded nearly $80 million by a jury, but accepted a payout of $15 million. The half-hour guarantee was dropped that year because of the "public perception of reckless driving and irresponsibility", according to then-CEO Tom Monaghan.
In December 2007, Domino's introduced a new slogan, "You Got 30 Minutes", alluding to the earlier pledge, but stopping short of promising delivery in half an hour.
The company continues to honor the 30-minute guarantee for orders placed in its stores located in Colombia, Vietnam, Mexico, China, and India.[The official Domino's Pizza websites of the respective countries provide more information on how their 30-minute pizza guarantees work.] The 30-minute guarantee is subject to the terms and conditions applied in the respective country.
Marketing
In 2001, Domino's launched a two-year national partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. That same year, company stores in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, provided more than 12,000 pizzas to relief workers following the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
. Through a matching funds program, the corporation donated $350,000 to the American Red Cross
The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
' disaster relief effort. In 2004, Domino's began a partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, participating in the hospital's "Thanks and Giving" campaign since the campaign began in 2004, and raising $5.2 million in 2014.
In 2007, Domino's introduced its Veterans Delivering the Dream franchising program and also rolled out its online and mobile ordering sites. In 2008, Domino's introduced the Pizza Tracker, an online application that allows customers to view the status of their order in a real time progress bar. Since 2005, the voice of Domino's Pizza's US phone ordering service has been Kevin Railsback.
In a 2009 survey of consumer taste preferences among national chains by Brand Keys, Domino's was last—tied with Chuck E. Cheese. In December that year, Domino's announced plans to entirely reinvent its pizza. It began a self-critical ad campaign in which consumers were filmed criticizing the then-current pizza's quality and chefs were shown developing a new pizza. The new pizza was unveiled that same month. The following year, 2010 and Domino's 50th anniversary, the company hired J. Patrick Doyle as its new CEO and experienced a 14.3% quarterly gain.
In 2011, Domino's launched a billboard advertising in New York's Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
which displayed real time comments from customers, including good, neutral and bad comments.
In 2015, Domino's unveiled a "pizza car" that can carry 80 pizzas, sides, two-liter bottles of soda, and dipping sauces. It also has a oven on board and is more fuel efficient than a standard delivery car. Officially named the Domino's DXP, the car is a Chevrolet Spark customized by Roush Performance. Once each car reaches 100,000 miles, it will be retired and returned to Roush, where it will be returned to stock form.
In 2016, Domino's cooperated with Starship Technologies and applied self-driving robots to deliver pizzas in specific German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and Dutch cities. In 2016, Domino's in New Zealand delivered the world's first pizza delivery by unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
using the DRU Drone by Flirety.
In February 2017, Domino's launched a wedding registry with gifts delivered in the form of Domino's cards. Domino's also worked with Gugu Guru to create a pizza-themed baby registry. Customers have the option of signing up for Domino's pizza package to be served for the event.
In June 2018, Domino's began repairing pothole
A pothole is a pot-shaped depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affecte ...
s in America as part of its "Paving for Pizza" initiative to prevent its pizzas from being damaged in transit.
In June 2019, Domino's announced a partnership with robotics company Nuro. The service is slated to launch in Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, with Nuro's custom, self-driving vehicle, R2.
In December 2021, the company began offering "surprise frees," or complimentary items as part of a delivery process, of up to $50 million. The move was made to distinguish the company from delivery apps that charged fees.
In January 2022, the company announced it would cut back on promotional offers as well as adjust specific menu items in response to inflationary pressures.
In September 2022, the company launched an "Inflation Relief Deal" that for a limited time offered a 20% discount on online ordering.
In November 2022, Domino's added 800 Chevy Bolt cars to the United States fleet of cars.
See also
* List of pizza chains
* List of pizza chains of the United States
* List of pizza franchises
* List of pizza varieties by country
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1960 establishments in Michigan
2004 initial public offerings
Bain Capital companies
Companies based in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Companies based in Metro Detroit
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Fast-food chains of the United States
Multinational food companies
Pizza chains of the United States
Pizza franchises
Restaurants established in 1960