Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DPE), the largest Domino’s franchisee in the world, will close over 200 underperforming stores in Japan. The franchisee group’s new chief executive, Mark van Dyck, indicated that the company’s pandemic-era expansion strategy resulted in a bloated international footprint that is no longer sustainable.
“Some of our Covid-period expansion resulted in stores that simply weren’t optimal based on our current customer proposition, and removing them will strengthen our network,” said van Dyck, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The Australian-based DPE owns over 3,500 stores across three continents. The franchisee’s most deeply penetrated markets are in Australia, France, Germany and Singapore. In July 2024, DPE had announced mass store closures in an effort to refocus its growth efforts.
Related: Domino’s Stock Plummets on Fear of Store Closures, Unmet Goals
The most recent move appears to have come about as a result of van Dyck’s efforts to revitalize DPE’s international strategy and was announced just months after his appointment as the company’s chief executive.
“When I started in this role three months ago I said we would move decisively to reshape our business for long-term success,” van Dyck said in a recent trading update. “Where change is required, we are acting quickly and transparently. Our priority remains clear—creating value for customers, franchise partners, and shareholders.”
Domino’s had previously announced it would close 80 low-volume locations in Japan as part of a “shake-up of its global operations,” per the Journal. The latest announcement, from DPE, is that the franchisee is closing 172 more Japanese stores—and 205 stores across its international footprint.
DPE said the closures will cost it about $61 million, but help generate about $10 million in annual savings. Chief Executive van Dyck said Japan “remained a high-potential market,” but that the group had to reevaluate its strategy within the country.
Investors appeared to support DPE’s announcement—the franchisee’s stock surged to a 10% increase Friday.
