Domino’s new chief’s first 100 days marked by store expansions and Pizza collections
Fast-food giant Domino’s Pizza’s new chief executive marked his first hundred days in charge with surging sales, more store openings and a plan for further expansion.
Andrew Rennie was dubbed a “textbook definition of a safe pair of hands” when it was announced he’d take over in July, and the firm’s third-quarter results seem to prove analysts were right.
Domino’s reported like-for-like sales up more than seven per cent in the third quarter, while its total sales increased 5.5 per cent, which it said reflected new store openings.
Despite this, it said total orders of 16.7m were down 1.2 per cent in the quarter, despite being up 1.5 per cent overall this year.
In a clear consumer trend, collections had grown 8.4 per cent, while deliveries were down 6.3 per cent, as many fast-food lovers looked to save the pennies amid the cost of living crisis.
Its strong figures were marked by 45 new store openings this year, with 60 to open by the end of the year.
Domino’s said its 2023 underlying earnings remained in the range of £132m – £138m for the year.
“Having been in the business for 100 days and spent that time travelling around the UK and Ireland visiting franchisees, suppliers and colleagues I’m even more excited about the opportunities ahead for Domino’s and our outstanding franchisees”, said Andrew Rennie.
Rennie continued: “Our franchisees are performing well in an uncertain market, and we are all benefiting from an aligned system. We remain focused on giving our customers great tasting food, exceptional service and great value, every single time. Together, our store openings are ahead of plan and trading well, collections are continuing to grow, our digital strategy is powering ahead, and we are bringing exciting menu innovation to our customers focused on different parts of the day.”
“We’ve continued to make great strategic progress to drive sustainable growth. As we look into next year, we see inflation stabilising and our focus will be on continued customer and order growth, as well as franchisee profitability. We remain confident that our resilient, asset-light business model will deliver further financial and strategic progress, and increased returns for our shareholders,” he added.
Rennie became Domino’s chief, having previously been its head in France and Belgium, Australia and New Zealand, and most recently, Europe, which includes its ‘master franchise agreements’ in many central and northern EU countries.