Domino's Pizza Group plc is a United Kingdom-based

master franchise A master franchise is a franchise relationship in which the owner of the franchise brand (the master franchisor) grants to another party the right to recruit new franchisees in a specific area. In exchange, the other party typically pays some pric ...

of international

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

pizza delivery Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria or pizza chain Delivery (commerce), 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, a ...

chain

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading 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 ...

. The company is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

and is a constituent of the

FTSE 250 Index The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septem ...

. Domino's Pizza Group is the largest master franchisee in the Domino's system (see Domino's Pizza§Franchises), measured by retail sales and store profits.

History

The Domino's Pizza company was founded in 1960, by American entrepreneur

Tom Monaghan Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American entrepreneur who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983 to 1992. Monaghan also owns the Domino's Farms Office Park, located in the Ann Arbor Charter Tow ...

as a single pizzeria in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, an ...

. The first store in the UK opened in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

in 1985. The master franchise for the British Isles was sold off by the parent company in 1993 to Domino's Pizza Group, a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

of the International Franchise Systems

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

controlled by sibling investors Colin and Gerry Halpern. The company partially floated its shares on London's

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...

in October 1999, by which time it had expanded to a network of almost 200 branches (of which all but eight were franchises). Certain investors such as Colin Halpern and property entrepreneur Nigel Wray retained significant stakes at this time. The company opened its 400th store in Wadsley Bridge,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

in November 2005. The 500th store opened in the end of 2007, in Hatfield, with the 600th following in December 2009, in

High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and S ...

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, being opened by

Stavros Flatley Stavros Flatley are a British- Cypriot father-son dance duo consisting of Demetrios and his son Michalakis 'Lagi' Andreas, best known for appearing on the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2009. They reached the final of the series, fini ...

. The Domino's share transferred from AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange in May 2008, and was promptly added to the

at the next quarterly review the following month. The 2000th European Domino's store was opened at ''Kier Park'', in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

in August 2013.

Germany

In April 2011, the group acquired a majority stake in the exclusive master franchise to own, operate and franchise Domino's Pizza stores in Germany. there are over 330 stores in Germany. The first German store opened in Berlin in 2010, and today, the company has five in the city. Other store locations also include Bonn and Aachen. The Domino's store in Cologne was one of three stores opening on that day, which were recognised as the 5,000th international store for Domino's Pizza Inc. The other two 5,000th stores were Rio de Janeiro, Brazil & Penang, Malaysia.

Switzerland

On 24 September 2012, Domino's Pizza Group acquired Domino's Pizza Switzerland AG, which provides the company with the exclusive right to operate and franchise Domino's stores in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, as well as an option to acquire the Master Franchise Agreement for Austria. In 2021 the loss-making chain was sold for CHF 300,000 to an undisclosed buyer.

Operations

From 29 December 2013, there were 858 stores in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. Of these, 663 stores are in England, 56 are in Scotland, 33 are in Wales, 21 are in Northern Ireland, one is on the Isle of Man, three are mobile units, 48 are in the Republic of Ireland, 23 are in Germany and 10 are in Switzerland. An ultimate total of 1,200 branches across the region by 2021 is targeted by the company Prospective franchisees are required to pay approximately £280,000 to the parent company for the right to operate their own Domino's Pizza outlet. Once established, the group also provides other services for the franchisee including production of

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

, sourcing and delivery of

ingredient An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial product (business), products contain secret ingredie ...

s and

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

. The group also delivers IT,

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and other administrative services on behalf of the franchisees. Domino's has a central commissary system which makes dough, and supplies this and other ingredients to each store.

Financial information

: - Accounts to 2005 prepared according to United Kingdom

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Publicly traded companies typically are subject to rigorous standards. Small and midsized businesses often follow more simplified standards, plus any specific disclosures required by their specific lenders and shareholders. Some firms operate on th ...

. Accounts from 2006 onwards prepared according to

International Financial Reporting Standards International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's f ...

Shareholder structure

Many of the principal

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal o ...

s of Domino's Pizza Group are individuals connected with the company including long term investor and

non-executive director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of th ...

Nigel Wray and former owner Colin Halpern. A total of 0.35% of shares are held in

treasury stock A treasury stock or reacquired stock is stock which is bought back by the issuing company, reducing the amount of outstanding stock on the open market ("open market" including insiders' holdings). Stock repurchases are used as a tax efficie ...

by the Domino's Pizza Group Employee Benefit Trust.

Products

In May 2012, Domino's signed up to Out of Home Calorie Labelling Pledge, which is part of the Government's Responsibility Deal. This saw the introduction of calorie information on Domino's main ordering website. In June 2012, the company signed up to the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement managed by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), the Government funded organisation responsible for improving waste reduction and recycling. In November 2012, Domino's launched a gluten free pizza in its stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, accredited by

Coeliac UK Coeliac UK is a UK charity for people with coeliac disease - a condition estimated to affect 1 out of every 100 people and to be twice as common in women as in men - and the skin manifestation of the condition, dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). Hi ...

Labour issues

In September 2007, the current affairs programme ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' reported on the alleged poor treatment of Domino's Pizza employees. Some of the deductions made by the company included the costs of insuring the cars used to deliver pizzas, and one worker was deducted all her wages for the first week of work because the franchise designated it "unpaid training". Then

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, Stephen Hemsley, denied that such issues were systemic within the franchise network. Domino's Pizza Group's operations in the United Kingdom extensively use

zero-hour contract A zero-hour contract is a type of employment contract between an employer and an employee whereby the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours to the employee. The term 'zero-hour contract' is primarily used in the ...

Sponsorship

Domino's Pizza was the sponsor of episodes of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' on

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

between 1998 to 2008. In July 2007,

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

introduced a ban on

fast food advertising Fast food advertising promotes fast food products and utilizes numerous aspects to reach out to the public. Along with automobiles, insurance, retail outlets, and consumer electronics, fast food is among the most heavily advertised sectors of th ...

, around programmes aimed at under sixteens. This resulted in the advertising being dropped for a brief period, but later resumed. In April 2008, when reintroduced, the advertising subsequently became more brand focused, rather than promoting specific products. In October 2008, the company announced that its sponsorship of the show would come to an end. Domino's has also sponsored the second, third and fourth series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

''. Orders received on the night of the 2008 Final were around a third above those of a typical Saturday night. In June 2011, Domino's sponsored '' Red or Black?'', a new game show presented by

Ant and Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's ...

. In December 2016 it became the sponsor of ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

''.

Digital strategy

In August 2007, Domino's became the first pizza company in the United Kingdom to launch a service that allows customers to order pizzas by text message. In May 2010, it launched a widget for social network sites, allowing any user with a blog,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

or MySpace account to promote Domino's Pizza, and receive a cash reward every time an order is placed through the widget. Domino's iPhone ordering app was introduced in January 2011, and took £1 million in its first three months. In June 2011, the company launched Android and iPad apps. A Windows Phone 7 app followed in 2012. The company also makes use of discount codes. Domino's growth in e-commerce continues with 61.5% of all United Kingdom delivered sales (2012: 56.1% of United Kingdom delivered sales) coming via the internet. Sales taken through all online platforms were up in 2013, by 28.2% to £338.0m (2012: £263.7m) and, of this, 30.9% was taken through a mobile device (2012: 19.7%).

References

External links

*
Profile at Google Finance
{{Authority control Restaurants established in 1985 British companies established in 1985 British subsidiaries of foreign companies UK and IRL Pizza chains of the United Kingdom 1985 establishments in England Fast-food franchises Companies based in Milton Keynes Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange 1999 initial public offerings