Domino's marks 300th store in Europe
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited is focused on building 1,000 stores over the next decade.
The Australian owned and operated pizza maker listed on the Australian Stock Exchange first entered the European market in July 2006 after purchasing 153 existing Domino’s Pizza stores in France, Belgium and The Netherlands from Domino’s Pizza Inc.
Since the purchase, DPE has added 147 stores in Europe and today celebrated the opening of their 300th European store in Pessac, France, in the famous Bordeaux wine region, bringing the group store count to 823.
Domino’s France President Andrew Rennie said opening Domino’s 300th European store is a great milestone and a huge achievement for the Australian owned and operated company.
“Opening our 300th European store and achieving international success is an enormous achievement for DPE, while many Australian companies fail in the European market, DPE has continued to exceed all expectations” Mr Rennie said.
Domino’s has grown to become the number one pizza company in France and The Netherlands in sales and store count, and aims to be the number one pizza delivery company in Belgium in store count by the end of 2010.
“Adapting our menu to match the local palate has been vital to our success. La Savoyarde, for example, has become one of our highest selling French pizzas; featuring smoked bacon, potatoes, fresh cream and Reblochon cheese from the Haute-Savoie region in the French Alps,” added Rennie.
DPE CEO and Managing Director Don Meij said while expansion was continuing in Australasia the Company was embracing organic growth opportunities in Europe.
“Only six years ago we were opening our 300th store as a Company, and now we are opening our 300th store in Europe, it terrific DPE has experienced such rapid growth and success,” Mr Meij said.
“Since purchasing the European stores we have implemented our successful Australian business model which has helped to grow sales, reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies, with Europe Network Sales growth up 13.6% in February 2010 on the corresponding period last year.”
Domino's key winning combination for its European expansion has been the mix of Australian and European senior managers based in Europe, who have combined their local cultural knowledge and Domino’s expertise to grow the business and develop it for future success.”
Domino’s Pizza (DMP) is Australia’s first publicly-listed pizza chain, making its debut on the Australian Stock Exchange in May 2005.
