Domino’s Pizza franchise celebrates milestone

Australian owned and operated Domino’s Pizza franchise has cemented its position as the world’s largest franchisee for the pizza brand with the recent opening of the company’s 600th store.

During the past year, the pizza franchise has added more than 200 stores to its network – a 50 percent jump. This is equivalent to the addition of almost one fast food franchise every working day during the past 12 months.

The Domino’s franchise now operates 387 stores in Australia, 58 stores in New Zealand, 92 stores in France, 3 stores in Belgium and 62 stores in the Netherlands.

The pizza franchise has forecast it will add 40 new stores to the network during 2006-07.

Domino’s Pizza Australia New Zealand CEO Don Meij said the Company continued to expand by a mixture of organic growth and growth by acquisition.

“Ongoing demand for fresh, great-tasting pizza has meant that we have been able to continue to identify key markets of growth,” he said.

“While expansion in Australia continues, particularly in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, we are also moving to embrace opportunities in New Zealand and Europe.

“Domino’s Pizza Australia New Zealand Ltd is now the largest franchisee of the Domino’s Pizza brand in the world. This has been achieved by meeting customer demands and adopting new technology and innovations which improve operational efficiency.

“While we celebrate the opening of our 600th store, our focus is on new store openings, new menus and new store formats which complement the continued roll-out of marketing and operational initiatives, such as internet ordering, to drive growth.”

The fast food franchise is Australia’s only publicly-listed pizza company and is the master franchisor for the Domino’s Pizza brand in Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Across these markets, the Domino’s franchise and its franchisees operate 601 stores. In Australia, the 387 stores employ more than 11,000 staff and make more than 50 million pizzas each year.