Domino's Pizza

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For Domino's Pizza in Europe and Australasia, see Domino’s Pizza Australia New Zealand Limited.
Dominos Pizza, Inc.
Type of Company Public (NYSE: DPZ)
(ASX: DMP)
Founded Ypsilanti, Michigan (1960)
Headquarters Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Key people Tom Monaghan, Founder
David Brandon, Chairman & CEO
Industry Food Wholesale
Products Pizza
Revenue $1.5 billion USD (2004)
Employees 145,000
Website www.dominos.com
World locations
Enlarge
World locations

Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ ASX: DMP) is an international pizza delivery franchise 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.

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[edit] History

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, including a 1975 trademark-infringement lawsuit by Amstar, maker of Domino sugar,[1] 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, and as of June 2006, it has 8,190 stores.[2] Monaghan retired in 1998 but retained a 27% non-controlling stake in the company.

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 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, but 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 its contract.

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 slogan that accompanied Andy was "Bad Andy. Good Pizza." It wasn't entirely well received, and lasted only a little over a year.

Domino's Pizza store in North London, England.
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Domino's Pizza store in North London, England.

In its early years until the late 1980s, Domino's kept its 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, and add medium and extra-large sizes, a choice of several beverages, and side orders such as chicken wings and bread 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 because of Monaghan's support of conservative and pro-life religious and political organizations, such as Operation Rescue and the Thomas More Law Center, which provides financial and legal support to the Intelligent Design movement and anti-abortion groups.

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 $3 million (€2.35 million) a year.

On August 13, 2006, Domino's added oven-baked brownies called Brownie Squares to its menu. To market this new item, Domino's created the mascot Fudgems, a three-foot-tall brownie with arms and legs, which appears in Domino's television, print, and Internet advertising for the Brownie Squares. He made his debut on August 17, 2006, with the launch of http://www.Fudgems.com. The site is also available in Spanish, where Fudgems is known as Brownito.

On October 23, 2006. Domino's added Brooklyn-style pizza to its menu. It comes in two sizes, 14" and 16", and features the hand-tossed dough spread out to create a thinner, foldable pizza. It comes with a choice of two new toppings, extra-large Pepperoni and extra-large Italian sausage.

[edit] Domino's in popular culture

  • The 1990 blockbuster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles featured the eponymous pizza-loving reptiles ordering from Domino's, even commenting that the "pizza dude has 30 seconds" to complete the delivery (in reference to "Domino's 30 minutes or it's free" policy). This delivery slogan has been further parodied by the Ninja Burger website, as "Guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes or less, or we commit seppuku!"
  • In issue #75 of the first volume of the superhero team comic book X-Factor (Feb. 1992), the team's speedster, Quicksilver, runs past a group of bystanders, startled by the object rushing past them that they could not even see, causing one to exclaim, "What the heck moves that fast?", to which another responds, "Musta been Federal Express. Or Domino's."'
  • In the episode 'White Power' by The Lonely Island, Andy answers the phone by saying "Domino's Pizza!"
  • Domino's is indirectly mentioned in issue #6 of the Sonic X comic book, when the main characters comment on the food available on Earth.
  • Domino's pizza was on the dinner table and mentioned in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) by Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) as he said grace: "This wonderful harvest of Domino's, KFC, and the always-delicious Taco Bell."
  • Domino's has been referenced several times on the tv series Yes Dear.
  • In the young Japanese Pop star Kawabe Chieco's music video, 'Candy Baby,' she can be seen eating from a stack of Domino's pizza boxes, at one point dropping them on the floor.

[edit] The Simpsons

In the UK, Domino's Pizza has been the sponsor of episodes of The Simpsons on Sky One since 1997. In 2006, Domino's has launched products based on the show, along with TV advertising featuring the characters. At the time of writing (October 30th 2006), Domino's is also sponsoring The Simpsons on Channel 4 (previously sponsored by Pizza Hut).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Amstar Corp. v. Domino's Pizza, Inc., 615 F.2d 252, 260 (5th Cir. 1980)
  2. ^ Domino's Pizza Announces Second Quarter 2006 Results. Domino's Pizza news release, July 20, 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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