Domino’s tried to sell pizza to Italians – but failed

Seven years have passed since the fast food giant entered the country, but the business hasn’t taken off. The newspaper wrote that Milan-based ePizza, which had been the franchisee for Dominos in Italy, was forced into bankruptcy in April of this year. Milan today.

At the end of July, all restaurants stopped working, and now the chain is officially closed again.

Local pizza restaurants

According to the company itself, it was the apps that offered home delivery from restaurants that meant the coffin nail.

During the last two years of the pandemic, they faced significantly increased competition from local pizzerias, which increasingly began using delivery companies such as Glovo, Just Eat and Deliveroo, according to CNN.

The company’s problems persisted as pandemic restrictions eased and consumers increasingly returned to sit-down restaurants.

Domino’s original marketing plan was to create a home delivery business on a large scale, which was not present in Italy when the company first established itself in the country. A total of 33 stores were opened, while the actual target was 800, the Washington Post writes.

“Don’t like pineapple”

The announcement of the company being forced to close in Italy sparked some jokes – both on newspaper pages and on social media.

Italian newspaper El Misaghiru For example, he used the headline “Italians don’t like pineapple pizza” and writes, among other things, that menus with “Pepperoni Passion” and “Hawaiana” did not impress puritan Italians.

One user on Twitter compared Domino’s founding plan in Italy to trying to sell snow in the Arctic, while other users drew attention to the fact that chain pizzas are often more expensive than local pizzerias.