Domino’s Pizza Inc.’s presence in the country that gave birth to pizza proved to be fleeting since Italians favoured regional eateries over the American import.
The last of Domino’s 29 branches have shut down since the business began operating in the nation seven years ago. It borrowed a lot of money with the intention of opening 880 locations, but when nearby eateries began to provide delivery services during the pandemic, it faced fierce competition and turned to creditors for help after running out of money and skipping payments.
Through a franchise deal with ePizza SpA, the US company entered Italy in 2015. It intended to set itself apart by offering a structured national delivery service along with American-style toppings like pineapple. In order to transport their products to clients’ homes while limitations prevented dining out, conventional pizza producers increased delivery or made agreements with third-party services like Deliveroo Plc, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV, or Glovo, which complicated its ambitious development.
‘We attribute the issue to the significantly increased level of competition in the food delivery market with both organized chains and ‘mom & pop’ restaurants delivering food, to service and restaurants reopening post pandemic and consumers out and about with revenge spending’, ePizza said in a report to investors accompanying its fourth-quarter 2021 results.
Domino’s and ePizza officials in the US and Italy didn’t reply to requests for comment. All 13 of the Italian Domino’s restaurants that are still open did not return calls. The company had already reduced operations in the country from its peak in 2020 and on July 29, it stopped providing delivery through its website.
However, some of the chain customers were taken aback by the closures and went to its Italian social media platforms to inquire as to why their calls and purchases weren’t being processed or why their local shop had closed.
It came after a Milan court in April gave the business court protection against creditors for 90 days, according to a filing with ePizza. The restrictions, which barred creditors from requesting repayment of debt or taking firm assets, ended on July 1. According to tribunal e-filings or the Italian Chamber of Commerce, there haven’t been any new developments in the court procedure.
As per the company’s most recent audited annual reports, its debt at the end of 2020 was 10.6 million euros ($10.8 million).
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