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La vita isn’t very dolce right now for Domino’s after the pizza chain failed to take off in the saucy dish’s birthplace.
Catch-up: Domino’s entered Italy in 2015 looking to capitalize on the pizza-loving market by offering a large-scale delivery service and betting consumers would be intrigued by its non-traditional (for Italy, at least) toppings like pineapple and BBQ chicken.
What happened: Domino’s closed its 34 locations in the country after discovering that Italians and their refined palates weren’t intrigued by the chain’s foreign offerings and preferred to stick with local restaurants.
- Likewise, the concept of a pizza delivery guy became a lot less novel after food delivery platforms took off in Italy during the pandemic.
Bottom line: Even after putting in tons of market research and developing a dough recipe designed specifically for the Italian market, Domino’s couldn’t figure out the customer.
- It’s a fate that has befallen many American companies trying to make the leap to new markets including Walmart in Germany (where customers were put off by the aggressively friendly greeters), Starbucks in Australia, and McDonald’s in Barbados.
It’s no surprise that Domino’s is struggling with higher costs and a delivery driver shortage right now, but the brand truly could not be doing better in Canada: With a dedicated client base across over 525 stores, one Alberta customer shelled out $275 for a single pie recently.