Pizza chain Domino's plans to operate 4,000 outlets in four years

With 2,000 outlets in 421 cities, chain shifts focus to dine-in

Jubilant Foodworks, which operates the master franchise for Dominos in India, plans to double its outlets to 4,000 in the next four years.

The pizza chain, currently present in 421 cities, inaugurated its 2,000th outlet in Gurugram on Monday.

Even as quick-service restaurants (QSRs) continue to see a slowdown, Dominos remains bullish on the Indian market.

“While QSRs have been under pressure globally, we have not passed price increases to consumers and so our sales traffic remains strong. Differentiative value remains very important to us, and hopefully, will help us to continue to win in the market,” Art D’Elia, executive vice-president, international, Domino’s Pizza, told Business Standard.  

“India is the number one market for Domino’s outside the US. With a very low opening price point, we have been able to democratise pizza and make it more accessible. Hence, we are not just the leading QSR pizza player but also the leading QSR player in the country. This differentiated value is what will fuel our growth in the Indian market,” he added.

Art D’Ella, executive vice president – international, Domino’s Pizza

The company is eyeing around 200 new stores in India every year, to achieve its medium-term goal. 

“A large part of the country still doesn’t have access to good quality pizza. We want to be in as many cities as possible. With the improvement in road infrastructure, we are opening outlets on all big highways. We are also trying to enter the big malls where we were present, and colleges and universities,"  Sameer Batra, chief business officer and president, Domino’s India, told Business Standard.

“We see massive headroom in the Indian market. Very few people still eat pizza outside. As the frequency of eating out will grow — on the back of a younger, more affluent population — pizza consumption will also grow,” Batra added.

The chain, which inaugurated a facility in Bengaluru last year, is now building a new factory on the outskirts of Mumbai to help serve future restaurant expansions.

The delivery business of the chain has seen sustained growth.

“Delivery is growing fast and our model is to grow it faster than the industry, which is rising at 10-12 per cent Y-o-Y. Introducing free deliveries has unlocked value for the customer and has helped accelerate growth,” he said.

However, the next focus area of the company, which serves over 200 million pizzas annually, will be dine-in.

“Growing our dine-in business is a massive area of focus. We are remodelling as many as 70-100 old stores every year in addition to building new stores to elevate the customer experience,” Batra said.

The company is also focused on growing its gourmet range.

“The contribution of the range to the overall sales has gone up to low double digits. It has done very well. We are trying to transform it into a larger platform with offerings beyond pizza,” he added.

“The contribution of the range to the overall sales has gone up to early double digits. It has done very well. We are trying to transform it into a larger platform with offerings beyond pizza,” Batra added.