Domino's Pizza aims to double Asia-Pacific footprint
DOMINO'S PIZZA International, a US-based operator of pizza restaurants and delivery services worldwide, has set a strategic growth plan to double the size of its business in the Asia-Pacific region within seven to eight years.
Steven Pizziol, vice president for the Asia-Pacific region of Domino’s Pizza International, said the company currently operated 2,500 franchised pizza stores in East Asia and the Pacific.
“We expect to increase the number of our stores in Asia-Pacific by at least 10 per cent each year. In the next five years, the number of Domino’s Pizza franchised outlets in Asia-Pacific will increase to about 3,500 stores. We expect to double the size of our pizza business in this region within the next seven to eight years,” Pizziol said.
He said the company would launch Domino’s Pizza franchises in Cambodia next year and in Myanmar some time after 2015.
Pizziol said the company was also looking for opportunities in other emerging markets in the region, including Papua New Guinea and Mongolia.
Ritch Allison, president of Domino’s Pizza International, said during his first visit to Bangkok that the company currently operated 11,250 franchised pizza restaurants in 75 countries worldwide.
“Founded in the state of Michigan in the US in 1960, the company has now opened 5,000 Domino’s Pizza [stores] in the US alone, of which 400 stores are corporate-owned and the others through franchising,” he said.
Allison yesterday presided over the opening of the latest Domino’s Pizza restaurant in Bangkok, in I’m Park community mall in the Sam Yan area, near Chulalongkorn University.
He said the company opened its first Asia-Pacific franchised outlet in Japan in 1985. Domino’s restaurants are now operating in 15 countries throughout this region, with significant growth in such markets as China, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
“We have 2,500 franchised stores in Asia-Pacific today. Asia-Pacific is also the fastest-growing region for the company. We are also looking for opportunities to grow our brand both in Asia-Pacific and potential markets around the world,” Allison said.
He added that the company launched franchised restaurants in four major markets this year, namely Paraguay, Norway, South Africa and Kenya. About five new markets will be entered next year, including Cambodia, Azerbaijan and Portugal.
Allison said the company expected retail sales to increase by 6-10 per cent a year in the US and other international markets. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, the annual sales growth will be at about 10 per cent and beyond.
“We’re pleased that Domino’s Pizza is growing so quickly in Thailand. Indeed, with such favourable demographics, Thailand is rapidly becoming a prominent and important market for the brand, and we look forward to working with Evolution Capital, our master franchisee in Thailand and Cambodia, to develop the leading global pizza delivery system in this vibrant market,” he said.
Sanjay Singh, chief executive of Evolution Capital, said the company started the Domino’s Pizza business in Thailand about two years ago.
“We currently operate 14 Domino’s Pizza restaurants in Thailand, of which 13 are in Bangkok and one in Pattaya, with the latest store opened today in the Sam Yan area in Bangkok,” he said.
“We expect the number of Domino’s Pizza restaurants in Thailand to reach 19 stores in total by the end of this year. We also plan to open another new 25 pizza restaurants next year, and in the next five years, we aim for the number of Domino’s Pizza restaurants in Thailand to reach between 70 and 80 stores,” he said.
“We want Domino’s Pizza to become the No 1 choice for Thai customers. We also expect the market share of Domino’s Pizza in Thailand’s Bt7-billion pizza-restaurant market to increase significantly, from about 5 per cent today to 30 per cent within the next five to seven years,” he said.
