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Domino's Pizza Quits Italy After Locals Shun American Pies (bloomberg.com) 227

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Domino's Pizza's footprint in the home of Pizza proved to be short lived with Italians favoring local restaurants over the American version. From a report: The last of Domino's 29 branches have closed after the company started operations in the country seven years ago. It borrowed heavily for plans to open 880 stores, but faced tough competition from local restaurants expanding delivery services during the pandemic and sought protection from creditors after running out of cash and falling behind on its debt obligations. The US chain entered Italy in 2015 through a franchising agreement with ePizza SpA and planned to distinguish itself by providing a structured national delivery service along with American-style toppings including pineapple. Its ambitious expansion ran into trouble as traditional pizza makers scaled up deliveries or signed deals with third-party services such as Deliveroo, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV or Glovo to bring their products to customers' homes while restrictions prevented dining out.
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Domino's Pizza Quits Italy After Locals Shun American Pies More

Domino's Pizza Quits Italy After Locals Shun American Pies

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  • Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:5, Funny)

    by K. S. Kyosuke ( 729550 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:06PM (#62775576)
    Did their business plans include bringing coal to Newcastle, too?

    • Re:Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:5, Funny)

      by mbkennel ( 97636 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:17PM (#62775598)

      For a large business like that, multiple important people had to make this sort of decision and invest a large amount of money and effort to pursue it.

      How did they imagine it would work?

      Did any one of them ever eat pizza in Italy?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Xenx ( 2211586 )
        I know Mexicans who eat Taco Bell. Sometimes it isn't about how authentic the product is. That isn't so say I think it was a good idea, just that it's not as flawed due to that aspect.

        • "I know Mexicans who eat Taco Bell. Sometimes it isn't about how authentic the product is."

          Sometimes it's just the other side of the street.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Xenx ( 2211586 )
            Well, it's fast food. A McDonald's burger isn't going to be a good burger, but it will more less be what you expect of it. Same is true of Dominos. It's not the quality choice, it's the quick and standardized choice.

            • Re:Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:5, Insightful)

              by edwdig ( 47888 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @07:28PM (#62776202)

              McDonalds is mostly about being fast and convenient. Location is everything for them. They put the stores where the people are.

              Dominos thrives in places where there aren't options. Most of their business comes from being the only place that will deliver to you When there's competition, they don't do so well. Most people will pick a random local pizza place over a Dominos if there is one available.

              It sounds like pizza delivery wasn't as common in Italy as it is in the US, so Dominos thought they had a niche by being more convenient. The pandemic made delivery more common, and killed the niche Dominos thought they had.

              • Re: (Score:3)

                by Xenx ( 2211586 )

                Dominos thrives in places where there aren't options. Most of their business comes from being the only place that will deliver to you When there's competition, they don't do so well. Most people will pick a random local pizza place over a Dominos if there is one available.

                I beg to differ. There are 8, I think, pizza places where I live. Dominos does quite well, but I'm sure they would do better without more choices. Dominos is the value choice around here. That has more or less been the same in other cities I've lived in. They survive on being a decent deal.

                It sounds like pizza delivery wasn't as common in Italy as it is in the US, so Dominos thought they had a niche by being more convenient. The pandemic made delivery more common, and killed the niche Dominos thought they had.

                That part I agree with. My whole point when responding originally was that they were saying Dominos pizza isn't Italian pizza and that was the problem. I think if they had more time to grown the brand, they would find t

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by PCM2 ( 4486 )

              Well, it's fast food.

              What country do you live in if you've waited more than ten minutes to get a couple of street tacos?

          • Sure but I will NOT cross the street for Taco Bell!

      • For a large business like that, multiple important people had to make this sort of decision and invest a large amount of money and effort to pursue it.

        How did they imagine it would work?

        Did any one of them ever eat pizza in Italy?

        Counterexample: Meta (formerly known as FB). For some companies, a CEO with a big enough ego would be sufficient to overrule the board, at least until the losses really start piling up.

    • Honestly, Iâ(TM)m going to get downmodded for this.. fuck it, I have the karma to spare. Americans donâ(TM)t really have our own food, we just make everyone elses food better. It hit me when I was having sushi in Japan. The fish quality, amazing. You know what wasnt? No avocados on a cut roll. Same goes with Pizza. There are cool and interesting things you wouldnt get in Italy on a pizza, that make is shittier. We improve everyones food. There is just a stigma against the country that brought the

      • Re: Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:4)

        by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:37PM (#62775640) Journal

        Pizza in Italy is better than Dominos. Also they have things on their pizza that you've never seen.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Hodr ( 219920 )

          Lived in Italy for 2.5 years. I have eaten a LOT of italian pizza (including in Naples), and I prefer almost any american made pizza. Chicago style is better. NY Style is better. Hell, if you're drunk enough Little Caesar's is better.

          That said, I enjoyed the authentic italian versions of most other dishes much more than the american version.

          • Chicago style "pizza" is an abomination.
            Because it is composed entirely of salt, fat, and carbohydrates you're programmed to like it though.

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by PCM2 ( 4486 )

              It's great, it just isn't pizza. Just like how a Chicago-style hot dog is actually a salad.

            • Programming doesn't have much to do with it. All humans have an instinct to eat food that is as calorie dense as possible. It is from our histories as hunter-gatherers and we had to take advantage of calories when we had it so we could hunt and gather even more.

        • Re: Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:4, Interesting)

          by kenh ( 9056 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:57PM (#62775740) Homepage Journal

          Pizza in Italy is better than Dominos.

          Pizza $anywhere is better than Domino's.

          Also they have things on their pizza that you've never seen.

          So do we - we now put not only cheese in the crust, but also pepperoni! Its amazing!

          I once helped unload/load stage equipment for a concert at my college last century (!), and the truck driver asked me if there was a Domino's nearby. I said "Oh, we have much better pizza than Domino's just off campus!" He said, I need to be on the road in 8 hours, driving all night to get to NYC for the next show, I can't take a chance with local pizzas, my stomach can handle Domino's, so that's what I stick with."

        • Not really, maybe in some tourist district, but real Italian pizza is not only government regulated, and the cooks are traditionalist to boot. They have one specific style and I am sure they are good at that style, but who wants to eat the same sort of pizza every time you eat pizza?

          • and the cooks are traditionalist to boot.

            This is a very broad brush with which to paint an entire country. I am seriously doubting that you've ever been to Italy. I think you are making things up, or quoting something you read somewhere.

            Some Italian cooks are traditionalist, others will serve you cheesecake in a wine glass. Others will fold your pizza in half before giving it to you.

          • who wants to eat the same sort of pizza every time you eat pizza?

            Try to get a Roman style pizza in Naples and you'll know.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

        I'll give you ketchup. Your coke has been nerfed to shit and is basically weaker coffee instead of cocaine cocktail, flash frozen food isn't a type of food but a method of food storage and you added fucking puke taste to chocolate.

        What kind of a monster adds puke taste to chocolate and calls it "better"?

        • Alright, I'll bite. What is this "puke taste" you're referencing?

          • Re: Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:5, Informative)

            by KiloByte ( 825081 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @05:42PM (#62775906)

            American "chocolate" has butyric acid added, which is literally what gives puke its taste. Back in the days, the hygiene and process in US was extremely shoddy, and produced a result that was almost always spoiled. The execs then believed that customers are used to the taste of spoiled chocolate and started intentionally adding butyric acid.

          • https://www.huffpost.com/entry... [huffpost.com]

            US chocolate has a slightly more pungent/sour flavor that most Americans won't even recognize.I don't necessarily dislike American chocolate (it's what I grew up with, after all), but I do happen to enjoy European chocolate a great deal. I think I learned to appreciate it in high school French class, where we sampled some.

            Do yourself a favor and pick up some European-made chocolate at some point. Your local grocery store might carry some, or you can even order from Amazon

      • Sure but Domino's isn't any good though. Just like McDonalds is very bland and crap, and Starbucks is overroasted ruined coffee.

      • Re: Bringing Pizza to Italy (Score:5, Insightful)

        by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:55PM (#62775728)

        Honestly, Iâ(TM)m going to get downmodded for this.. fuck it, I have the karma to spare. Americans donâ(TM)t really have our own food, we just make everyone elses food better. It hit me when I was having sushi in Japan. The fish quality, amazing. You know what wasnt? No avocados on a cut roll. Same goes with Pizza. There are cool and interesting things you wouldnt get in Italy on a pizza, that make is shittier. We improve everyones food. There is just a stigma against the country that brought the world ketchup, coke, frozen food that works, and milk chocolate.

        And yet, when foreigners visit America and go to [their native country] restaurant, they're usually (un)pleasantly surprised at how bad the American translation, is.

        "Better" is subjective as fuck, and claiming America "does it better" is self-aggrandizing on a truly American level. Even as an American, I wouldn't expect any less arrogance. Thank you for demonstrating not not just who we are, but what we are. No need to downmod. You were astoundingly accurate.

      • There is good food in the U.S. but ketchup isn't one of them, it isn't even food. It is a good lubricant though. Milk chocolate was invented in Switzerland, not the U.S. and it is hard to get real chocolate in the U.S. Most of what is marketed as "chocolate" here is just brown thing with sugar.

      • Americans don't really have our own food...

        Barbecue comes the closest to "American food."

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sfcat ( 872532 )

        fuck it, I have the karma to spare. Americans donâ(TM)t really have our own food

        So you don't live in New Orleans then I take it. Never had real BBQ? Funny story. Pizza did start in Italy but you wouldn't recognize it as pizza. [youtube.com] What you know as pizza started in the US by Italian-Americans in and around NYC. Then it migrated back to Italy and what you eat there is their adaption of what was developed in the US which was an adaption of a completely different Italian street food that you wouldn't want to eat. I have also seen a documentary on General Zho's chicken. At the end of the

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        I think properly cooked traditional pizza, i.e. the hand made, stone baked, oven fired kind is much better than what pizza chains put out. And Italy has lots of places like that. Looking at deliveroo.it I can see there are nearly 400 places around Rome selling pizza and the good ones look way more appetizing than Dominos, and are quite affordable too.

        So no wonder if they failed hard there - lots of places sell good, cheap, affordable pizza - so why would Dominos even think they'd succeed?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by pjt33 ( 739471 )

        The USA is the only country in the world where I've seen a restaurant advertising that its food doesn't contain MSG. There are great chefs in the USA, but that doesn't make your chain restaurants' products qualify as high quality food.

      • Americans donâ(TM)t really have our own food, we just make everyone elses food better.

        I'd say Kentucky Fried Chicken is quite American*. It's also pretty big in Japan. I think people can come up with other examples of more-or-less American original foods if they think about it for a minute.

        * The stretch that'd be required to declare KFC as derivative of some other country's food is probably big enough to also be used to declare that pretty much *no one* has their own food.

      • I would say we have our own food. There isn't anything German about beer or hot dogs; UK about fried fish; French about paste & scrambled eggs; Indian about naan; Japanese about white rice; Italian about pizza; Chinese about Chinese; etc.

        They are all American and have deviated enough from their origins to be called such. Our staples aren't any less healthy than what the elders ate. But there is a stigma against American food as they see it as an adulteration of what they had for thousands of years.

        Ame

    • I can't wait to hear what mexicans will say about Taco Bell when it expands south of border.

    • In 2020 there was a news story about a Panda Express opening in Kunming, China [radii.co]. Turned out it was a fake, a local knock-off stealing the brand name and logo. There are no Panda Express restaurants in China.

  • Next will Olive Garden try to make a play?

  • La Dolce Vitea... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by beheaderaswp ( 549877 ) * on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:09PM (#62775582)

    C'mon...

    My family is Neopolitan- we came form Senerchia Italy. And the things that have been done to Italian food in the name of "Americanization" is simply comical.

    I'm not talking about Chicago, New York, or Detroit pizza- all of those traditions trace directly back to Naples with the ingredients found here in America.

    I'm talking about that other BS. Papa Johns, Dominoes, and California Pizza Kitchen... ETC.

    You try to sell that stuff in Italy you'll just get laughed at. If you called it something other than pizza, maybe they would go for it. Some of it's tasty. But open a Dominos?

    That takes a certain kind of stupid not commonly seen... I hope...

    • This comes from American corporate ignorance and arrogance and its worship of capitalism. It’s like wondering why the Chevy Nova was a complete failure overseas. Hint: in Spanish “no vas” translates into “no go”.

      • Maybe they trialled a single location and found the business was really good⦠but failed to notice that all their customers were American tourists and expats :). Doesnâ(TM)t scale nationally.

    • But open a Dominos?

      You can find better food at practically any street vendor's in Naples than anything you could find at any of the big American chain behemoths. I once had a calzone served to me wrapped in paper at a Naples market that still gives me night sweats to think about. The lady who served it to me looked like Al Molinaro from Happy Days, but she knew how to make a calzone.

    • But way back in the day Pizza Hut wasn't all that terrible in New York because intense competition from local chains forced them to make the food at least edible and it was definitely cheap. So it's possible what you get in Italy might be significantly better. I know the last time I had Domino's Pizza here in the states my first thought was I don't understand how they're staying in business because this is worse than a tostinos. I mean yeah it was a $6 Pizza but it was worse than a $1 Pizza.

    • Even in the US, I think people eat the stuff those chains make, mainly out of habit or because they haven't had truly GOOD pizza.

    • To be fair it's not just Americanisation. Dominos butchers a Pizza for any local market, including Chicken Shawarma pizzas in their middle eastern restaurants, and even the Dutch where they made a kale, mashed potato, and smoked sausage pizza worthy of making any Italian throw up.

  • With how traditional Italians can be with food, this is exactly as expected. There's plenty of good local pizzerias in Italy, I'm not sure what the idea was for Domino's in the first place (and no, a distribution network doesn't matter as much as taste).

  • If you ever get to try local Italian pizza, in Italy, you immediately know why opening an American pizza franchise there is an insane business idea.

    • To me pizza is about cheese. I can eat a cheese pizza no problem. I've never eaten an Italian pizza that gets that. Italian pizza is more like bread with toppings that aren't cheese.

  • Brave (Score:5, Funny)

    by Andrio ( 2580551 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:14PM (#62775594)

    If Domino's was brave enough to sell pizzas in Italy, then you can be brave enough to ask your boss for that raise.

  • ... now it's bisquick with orange grease.

  • I lived 3 months in Tirrenia, just outside Pisa. (Score:3)

    by TigerPlish ( 174064 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:50PM (#62775702)

    I ate a lot at a joint called "Los Squalos." Never once did i get a pizza that looked or tasted anything like what we get here.

    In short, Pizza Hut is terrible, and they should learn how they do pizza in Italy. It's not asssembly-line friendly tho, so I guess it's the wrong use case for Pizza Hut.

    This is like going to Europe with a 7-liter 2-ton Corvette from teh 70's, and try to tell the Italians how to make sports cars.. when theirs back then was 3 liters and barely a ton and half... and 2 feet shorter... and metal.. and believe it or not, better-built.

    We had a '82 Ferrari 308 and a '78 Corvette in our 'hood. I was friendly with both owners and washed the cars often for a nice sum. The 308 was far more enjoyable to drive fast, but it was hell when slow.. power nothing, it was all manual from windows to brakes to steering. But at speed? Delightful little go-kart.

    I'll stick to the real thing thank you. Pizza Hut isn't anywhere near pizza. Haven't been to one or ordered from in literally a couple of decades. I have a fantastic local yokel that does a far better job. Not a chain. Just one restaurant.

    As total trivia, the guy with the 308 bought it used with cash in 1984, with $ he made working on Eastern Airline's ticketing system. That contract paid for that car. He's the fella that got me into IT, except it wasn't called IT back then, it was Data Processing.. I seem to have been unable to convert IT into Ferrari money. Ah well, he had a rich daddy so maybe that helps.

  • Domino's in Italy was not so bad... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by farenka ( 937963 ) on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @04:56PM (#62775732) Homepage
    I live in Rome and I ordered pizza from Domino's a couple of times. The pizza was quite better than the "American version" (I tried it as well in the US) they had some italian classic pizzas and some delicious variants with Jalapeno pepperoni and some "american style ingredients". Stuffed crust was another option very uncommon in Italy. I liked it as an "exotic" alternative to my "classic pizza place". So It's a bit sad they closed down, but I think they had higher costs: franchise license, in house delivery (others just use Just Eat so no fixed costs) and some cool hi-tech pizza boxes (definitely more expensive). So: RIP Domino's Italy... I'll miss you (not too much)

    • In-house delivery is cheaper if you're popular, but less profitable if you aren't. Pizza used to be the only food available for delivery in most places, so they were busy with deliveries. But now you can get almost anything ordered in most places (especially populous ones) so that's really screwed it for pizza chains. The only thing they haven't tried is making decent pizza.

    • Being better than the "American version" is a very low bar. All salt and no flavor.

  • ...in Italy to sustain their business. Quite clearly, no Italians would defile their taste buds & digestive systems with that shit. I lived in Puglia (south eastern Italy) for a year & had the best pizza & damn near the best gelato in my life (best gelato goes to Seville with Nice a close 2nd). Pizza in Rome was also excellent (if you're not in the tourist traps). If you're used to fatty, sugary, starchy, bland food stuffed with flavourless meat, I guess really good food might come as a bit of a
  • Congratulations to the Italians for adapting quickly and beating the crap out of Dominoes. You ain't missing much, and if someone is interested in "American style toppings" they can easily access all ingredients, and probably fresher and of better quality.

    Don't let big corporations kill local businesses.

  • We'll take Dominos back but the Italians have to take Sbarro and their so-called Italian food away at the same time.

  • Some 30 years ago I was in Puerto Vallarto, at the El Presidente hotel for a week. I used to visit Mexico a lot and was used to using their bus services, so I ate a lot of really good food in town away from the tourist spots. For half the price of the tourist spots, but I digress.

    One day I wanted familiar food and there was a Pizza Hut across the street and maybe 100 yards up. I walked there, got a pizza, walked back to my room, and ate the worst pizza I've ever eaten.

  • They were told: That's not a pizza, THIS is a pizza.

  • In the very least (Score:4, Insightful)

    by AbRASiON ( 589899 ) * on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @06:34PM (#62776078) Journal

    They're probably offended by the term "pies" they aren't even close to pies and makes zero sense.

    The closest thing to a pie in the pizza family is the Chicago deep dish and it doesn't have a lid, so it's really more of a tart.

    #notpies

  • Of course Italians snubbed it. If Americans had any knowledge about what real pizza is, they'd quit supporting Dominos and the other chains entirely.

  • Should have been "Bye, bye, miss American pie."

  • I've had pizza in Italy, it was fantastic.
    I've had pizza in Brooklyn, it was also fantastic (in a different way).
    I've had Domino's 'pizza'. Because of something my momma taught me, I have nothing else to say about Domino's pizza.

    I will say that Italians are absolutely FINE with American pizza. Quite a few really enjoy the pizza I had in Brooklyn.

    It was not the 'Americaness' of the pizza that killed Domino's business in Italy.

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