Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza ASX:
DMP is an international
pizza delivery franchise and
fast-food restaurant chain headquartered in
Ann Arbor, Michigan,
United States. It was founded by
Tom Monaghan in
1960. As of
2006, it had 8,000 stores in more than 55 countries. It was the second-largest pizza chain in the United States when it went public in
2004, with total sales exceeding
US$4.6 billion.
Throughout its early history, the chain offered free pizza to customers who did not get their order in 30 minutes. The offer was changed to a $3 discount in the mid-
1980s, then abandoned in the
1990s. They ended this campaign after numerous delivery drivers were driving recklessly in order to make the time limit, and several high profile incidents of injuries to pedestrians and other drivers occurred.
Domino's offers
online ordering via the and
digital television throughout the United Kingdom. Telephone orders are made locally, but online orders go to headquarters and sent directly to the local store via their computer system. Orders can be placed over the Web in selected areas of the
United States,
Australia and the
United Kingdom.
The origins of Domino's Pizza began in
1960 when
Tom Monaghan and his brother James bought a local pizzeria in
Ypsilanti, Michigan, named Dominick's Pizza. The deal was secured by a $75 down payment and the brothers borrowed $500 to pay for the store. Eight months later, James quit the partnership and traded his half of the business to Tom for a used
Volkswagen Beetle. With Tom Monaghan as sole owner of the company, Dominick's Pizza became Domino's Pizza. In
1968, a fire destroyed the company headquarters and the commissary. Although Domino's faced numerous other obstacles in the following years, the company expanded, and in
1978 the 200th Domino's franchise opened. In the
1980s, Domino's decentralized its operations by opening the first international Domino's in
Winnipeg,
Canada. In the following years the company expanded even more greatly and currently has over 7,875 stores. Monaghan retired in 1998 but retained a 27% non-controlling stake in the company.
In the 1980s, Domino's Pizza was well known for its advertisements featuring The
Noid. Customers were implored to order from Domino's in order to "avoid the Noid." In 1989, a man, Kenneth Lamar Noid, who thought the ads were a personal attack on him, held two employees of an
Atlanta, Georgia, Domino's restaurant hostage for over five hours. After forcing them to make him a pizza, Noid surrendered to police. Noid was charged with
kidnapping,
aggravated assault,
extortion, and possession of a
firearm during a crime. He was found
not guilty by reason of insanity. Contrary to popular belief, this incident did not cause Domino's to pull the "Noid" campaign off the air; in reality, Noid creator and owner
Will Vinton Studios asked for a larger amount of money for continued use of the Noid character, and Domino's chose not to renew their contract.
Domino's has been very present in popular culture, with its products appearing in, among other films, the
1990 blockbuster
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
In
2000, Domino's introduced another advertising mascot,
Bad Andy. His objective was to get Domino's employees to break the rules set down by the company (his most famous was trying to get a worker to use a rolling pin to shape the crust, even resorting to stalking to get him to try it). The campaign lasted for little over a year, and the company changed its slogan during that time to "Bad Andy. Good Pizza." It wasn't entirely well received, and some people still criticize Domino's for doing it.
The three dots on a Domino's Pizza box represent the first three Domino's stores. Monaghan had planned to add another dot for each new restaurant that opened, but given the rapid rate at which Domino's opened new stores, that quickly became impractical.
In its early years until the late 1980s, Domino's kept their menu very simple. Most stores sold only one type of crust (hand-tossed or regular crust as some people call it), in two sizes (large and small), and only one choice of beverage (
Coca-Cola Classic). Later on, competition from other delivery chains forced Domino's to add deep dish and thin crusts, get rid of the small size, add meduim and extra large, a choice of several beverages, coke, diet coke, sprite, fanta orange, and root beer and side orders such as buffalo chicken wings, buffalo chicken kickers, cheesy bread, bread sticks, and cinna sticks.
Domino's has also introduced numerous innovations in the pizza industry including the now standard use of corrugated cardboard delivery boxes, the modern belt driven pizza oven, modern and centralized ingredient logistics, and the "Heat Wave," a portable electrical bag system that uses patented magnetic induction technology to keep the pizza hot during delivery.
Monaghan is no longer involved with the running of the corporation, nor does he have a controlling interest. In the past Domino's has come under fire from some liberal groups because of Monaghan's support of conservative and
pro-life religious and political organizations, such as
Operation Rescue, and affiliated activities.
Over 8,000 stores worldwide now operate under the Domino's brand, with the opening of a store in
Huntley, Illinois, as the 8,000th store. All international stores are franchised. The Domino's Pizza store in
Tallaght,
Ireland, became the first in Domino's history to hit a turnover of $3m (€2.35m) a year.
Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald, 546 U.S. ___ (2006), a
U.S. Supreme Court decision involving claims against Domino's of racial discrimination under
42 U.S.C. § 1981.
*
Official site*
Index of Domino's Pizza international sites*
Nutrition information on Domino's Pizza
