Domino’s Doubling Down to Maintain Their Place on Top

If you want to get pizza to your customers faster, build a pizzeria next door to them. That’s the philosophy behind Domino’s new strategy of “fortressing” markets. Fortressing is building more stores where stores are already present. Domino’s plans to add 2,000 stores domestically over the next seven or eight years and 10,000 world-wide by 2025. The goal is to decrease delivery times and carryout business while boosting customer satisfaction, according to Restaurant Business Online.

Domino’s CEO Ritch Allison said the fortressing strategy's goal is to make Domino's “the dominant number one” pizza company. Last year Domino’s gained the position of No. 1 in the world in terms of global pizza sales, edging its way past longtime frontrunner Pizza Hut.

Domino’s expects sales to go down temporarily with fortressing because they are effectively saturating their own market. In time, however, they hope to drive out competitors.

Domino’s has long branded itself as a company that’s built on speed of delivery. The chain's "30 Minutes or It's Free" campaign ran from 1973 until 1993, when the practice was criticized as too unsafe for drivers. In Australia, Domino’s launched a 20 minute-guarantee with an option to pay extra and get your pizza in as little as 15 minutes. However, some critics have claimed that Domino's prepares these pizzas in advance to make the delivery on time.

Domino's now relies more on multiunit operators than singe-franchisee owners, Restaurant Business notes. The company says its data suggests fortressing will increase franchise operators' overall profits while delivering pizzas faster without compromising driver safety or quality of the food.

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