Domino’s Pizza Inc.’s footprint in the home of Pizza proved to be short-lived, with Italians favouring nearby eating places over the American version.
The last of Domino’s 29 branches have closed after the organisation commenced operations in the country seven years ago. It borrowed heavily for plans to open 880 stores. However, it confronted tough opposition from nearby eating places, expanded delivery services at some stage in the pandemic and sought protection from creditors after running out of cash and falling behind on their debt duties.
The US chain started working in Italy in 2015 through a franchising agreement with pizza SpA. It deliberately distinguished itself by providing an established national delivery provider alongside American-style toppings, including pineapple.
Its bold expansion ran into problems as traditional pizza makers scaled up deliveries and signed deals with third-party services, which include Deliveroo Plc, Eat Takeaway.com NV or Glovo, to convey their merchandise to customers’ houses while restrictions prevented eating out.
The US and Italian representatives for Pizza and Domino’s didn’t reply to messages seeking comment. Calls to all 13 remaining Domino’s places in Italy went unanswered. The organisation had already decreased operations in the country from its top in 2020 and stopped delivery from its website on July 29. the closures were a surprise to a number of its customers, who turned to the chain’s Italian social-media channels thinking why their calls and orders weren’t going through or why their local store had shut.
