Strategic Management Cases
Domino’s Pizza, Inc., 2013
www.dominos.com , DPZ
Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Domino’s is the largest pizza delivery company in the USA having a 22.5 percent share of the pizza delivery market. Domino’s digital ordering channels include online ordering at www.dominos.com , mobile ordering at http://mobile.dominos.com , and ordering on iPhone, Kindle Fire, and Android apps. More than $2 billion of Domino’s pizza is ordered online annually. There are more than 10,300 Domino’s stores in over 70 countries. Domino’s had sales of over $7.4 billion in 2012, with $3.6 billion of that coming from the USA.
Copyright by Fred David Books LLC. (Written by Forest R. David)
History
Growing up in foster homes most of their childhood, Tom Monaghan and his brother James borrowed $900 in 1960 to purchase a mom-and-pop pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan, named Domi-Nick’s. After trading his brother James a Volkswagen Beetle for his half of the business in 1961, Tom changed the store name in 1965 from Domi-Nick’s to Domino’s Pizza Inc. The company experienced steady growth during the 1960s, and by 1978, there were 200 Domino’s stores in the USA. During the 1980s, the company expanded rapidly both in the USA and internationally. By the end of the decade, Domino’s had more than 5,000 stores in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and Colombia. By 1998, there were more than 6,000 Dominos, with 1,500 located outside the USA. Tom Monaghan retired in 1998 and sold 93 percent of the company (worth $1 billion) to Bain Capital Inc. In the six years following the sale, Domino’s enjoyed great success under Bain Capital and in 2004 Domino’s became a publically traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DPZ. The initial stock price was $16 per share and placed a value on the company at more than $2 billion (double the price Bain paid).
Domino’s changed its 49-year-old recipe at year end 2009 and started a heavily advertised marketing campaign called “new inspired pizza.” Domino’s stock price appreciated from around $8 a share at the start of 2010 to $60 in mid-2003. Fueled by the new recipe and new products, Domino’s celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010 and was awarded best pizza chain in 2010 and 2011 by Pizza Today magazine, marking the first time ever that the same pizza chain had received the award in consecutive years. Domino’s CEO Patrick Doyle was named the best CEO of 2011 by CNBC. Domino’s was recently ranked number 1 in Forbes magazine’s “Top 20 Franchises for the Money” list.
About 96 percent of Domino’s stores are owned by franchisees. There are very few company-owned Domino’s stores.
Corporate Philosophy and Mission Statement
Domino’s does not have a stated vision statement, but the company mission statement is as follows: “Exceptional franchisees and team members on a mission to be the best pizza delivery company in the world.” Domino’s “guiding principles” are based on the concept of one united brand, system and team:
· • putting people first;
· • striving to make every customer a loyal customer;
· • delivering with smart hustle and positive energy; and
· • winning by improving results every day. (2012 Annual Report)
Organizational Structure
As indicated in Exhibit 1 , Domino’s has 11 top executives, mostly executive vice-presidents (EVPs). It appears that Domino’s operates from a functional organizational structure with Doyle being “where the buck stops,” although for a firm of this size, a divisional or strategic business unit type structure by region (or by franchised versus company owned) may be more effective in promoting delegation of authority, responsibility, and accountability.
EXHIBIT 1 Domino’s Organizational Chart
Business Segments
Domino’s provides financial information for four key business segments: (1) domestic company-owned stores, (2) domestic franchise stores, (3) domestic supply chain, and (4) international. Note in Exhibit 2 that the largest revenue-generating segment is the domestic supply chain with more than 50 percent of all revenue. Note also the large revenue numbers for the relatively few company owned stores, because each Domino’s domestic franchisee owns his or her own store(s) and reports their revenues on their own personal financial statements rather than Domino’s. From franchisees, Domino’s reports only the royalties and advertising fees it receives from franchisees as revenue. The financial data for the international supply chain centers are included in the international division, not under the domestic supply chain division. Also note in Exhibit 2 the slight revenue decline in 2012 for domestic company-owned stores.
Exhibit 3 reveals that for 2012, Domino’s international stores had the highest growth in revenue, followed by U.S. company-owned stores. However the sales growth among all three segments slowed in 2012.
Exhibit 4 reveals that Domino’s growth in number of stores is highest outside the USA, with the actual number of company-owned stores in the USA falling to 388. About 10,000 employees work for Domino’s, but counting all workers for all franchisees, this number is closer to 205,000.
EXHIBIT 2 Finances by Segment (in millions)
Business Segment
Revenue, 2012
Revenue, 2011
Revenue, 2010
Revenue, Increase (%)
Domestic company-owned stores
$324
$336
$345
(3.6)
Domestic franchise
195
187
173
4.3
Domestic supply chain
942
928
876
1.5
International
217
201
176
8.0
TOTAL
$1,678
$1,652
$1,571
1.6
Source: Company documents.
Note: Domino’s 2012 year ended 1-31-13.
EXHIBIT 3 Same Store Sales Growth (Percent)
U.S. company-owned stores
U.S. franchiseowned stores
International stores
2008
−2.2
−5.2
6.2
2009
−0.9
0.6
4.3
2010
9.7
10.0
6.9
2011
4.1
3.4
6.8
2012
1.3
3.2
5.2
Source: Company documents.
EXHIBIT 4 Growth: Total Number of Domino’s Stores
U.S. company-owned stores
U.S. franchiseowned stores
International stores
2008
489
4,558
3,736
2009
466
4,461
4,072
2010
454
4,475
4,422
2011
394
4,513
4,835
2012
388
4,540
5,327
Source: Company documents.
Domestic Supply Chain
Domino’s domestic supply chain supplies franchisees with dough, vegetables, ovens, uniforms, and much more, enabling better control, pizza consistency, and timely delivery of products. This backward integration strategy enables Domino’s to offer pizza at lower prices and allows store managers to focus on store operations rather than mixing dough on site, prepping vegetables, and bargaining with independent suppliers for ingredients. Domino’s has 16 regional doughmanufacturing and supply chain centers and leases a fleet of more than 400 trucks to aid in delivering products to stores twice a week. However, Dominos’ franchisees are not required to purchase supplies from Domino’s, but interestingly more than 99 percent do purchase all its supplies from the company’s domestic supply chain segment. To ensure this division remains viable, Domino’s provides profit-sharing incentives to franchisees to buy its products from Domino’s. In addition to the 16 domestic supply chain centers, Domino’s also operates 6 supply chain centers outside the USA.
Domestic Stores
The company’s domestic stores division includes a network of 4,540 stores operated by 1,026 franchisees and 388 company-owned stores in the USA. Domino’s desires to have all of its stores owned and operated by franchisees, but if certain stores are underperforming, Domino’s often will purchase these stores in hopes of turning them around and then refranchising them at a later date. Domino’s uses company-owned stores as test sites for new products, promotions, new potential store layout improvements, and as test sites for prospective new franchisees.
Although the typical franchisee of Domino’s operates 4 stores, the nine largest franchisees operate more than 50 stores, including the largest domestic franchisee that operates 135 stores. Currently, Domino’s has 1,077 different domestic franchisees with the average franchisee being in Domino’s system for an impressive 14 years. Much of this longevity can be attributed to Domino’s requiring prospective franchisees to manage a store for 1 year before entering into a long-term contract with Domino’s. Domino’s feels this system is unique to the pizza industry and provides a competitive advantage over rival pizza firms.
International Division
Domino’s has 5,327 franchise stores outside the USA. The company’s international revenues as a percent of total revenues increased to 13.0 percent in 2012, up from 11.2 percent in 2010. Exhibit 5 provides is a breakdown of Domino’s stores in the top 10 markets, which account for more than 75 percent of all Domino’s international stores. Note that the United Kingdom has the most Domino’s of all countries, followed by Mexico. Among the company’s six “international” supply chain centers, four of these are in Canada, one is in Alaska, and one is in Hawaii. (It is unclear why Domino’s categorizes Alaska and Hawaii as international). As with Domestic franchisee stores, most of the company’s revenue in the international division comes from royalty payments and advertising, as well as the sales of food and supplies to certain markets (predominantly Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii). Note in Exhibit 5 the rapid growth in Domino’s stores in India, Turkey, and Japan. The largest Domino’s franchisee outside the USA operates 911 stores.
EXHIBIT 5 Top 10 Countries Where Domino’s Are Located
Country
Number of Stores, 2011
Number of Stores, 2012
% Change
United Kingdom
670
720
7.5
Mexico
577
581
0.7
Australia
450
464
3.1
India
439
522
25.7
South Korea
358
372
3.9
Canada
354
368
3.9
Turkey
220
284
29.0
Japan
205
245
19.5
France
195
215
10.3
Taiwan
141
140
–
Source: Company documents.
Internal Issues
Domino’s has a vertically integrated supply chain where they have backward control to some extent over many of its supplies such as dough, veggies, equipment, and uniforms and forward control over around 400 retail stores that are company owned. Domino’s offers little to nothing in terms of healthy food options on the menu, such as salads or fruit. Although this approach enables Domino’s to focus exclusively on pizza, this practice also increases the firm’s vulnerability to the increasingly health-minded customer and possible government mandates for fast-food restaurants to stop using certain ingredients and preservatives, and potentially forcing all restaurants to label all nutrition information on the menu at the point of sale. Such a law would not be favorable to Domino’s.
Domino’s attributes much of its success to an incentive-based system for franchisees in which it actively shares in profits through increasing demand for new stores and through purchasing supplies from the Domino’s supply chain. Domino’s individual franchisee stores and company-owned stores also enjoy a simple and effective store layout enabling pizza delivery and carryout orders to be processed and executed efficiently as compared to many competitors. Unlike Domino’s, many rival pizza firms use a dine-in business model, which is much more costly than Domino’s strategy. Competitive advantages such as these make Domino’s an attractive franchisee option in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) market because overhead and investment is generally cheaper than competing firms.
Sustainability
Sustainability refers to the extent that an organization’s operations and actions protect, mend, and preserve rather than harm or destroy the natural environment. Many firms today develop an annual sustainability report, similar to an annual report, to reveal to stakeholders its actions and commitment to sustainability. However, Domino’s does not produce an annual sustainability report nor does the company have a sustainability statement on its website.
Advertising and Sales Force
Dominos domestic stores contributed 5.5 percent of all retail sales to support national and local advertising campaigns. Domino’s expects this rate to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future. Much of those monies are devoted to mass-mail flyers promoting specials at the local Domino’s.
Domino’s Pulse Point-of-Sale System
To maximize efficiencies and provide timely financial and marketing data, Domino’s requires all stores to install and use its PULSE system that now exists in all company-owned stores and 98 percent of franchisee-owned stores. The system enables touch-screen ordering that improves order accuracy and efficiency and provides the driver with directions and the best route to take for multiple deliveries, saving time and money. In addition, the PULSE system better enables Domino’s to ensure it receives full royalties from all transactions in what is often a cash business, assuming the franchisees are honest and always use the PULSE system when receiving orders.
Finance
Domino’s recent income statements and balance sheets are provided in Exhibits 6 and 7 , respectively. Note that Domino’s revenues increased 2.6 percent in 2012 and the firm’s long-term debt rose slightly to $1.53 billion. Note the company has zero goodwill on its balance sheet.
EXHIBIT 6 Domino’s Pizza, Statements of Income (In thousands, except per share amounts)
2010
2011
2012
REVENUES:
Domestic company-owned stores
$ 345,636
$ 336,349
$ 323,652
Domestic franchise
173,345
187,007
195,000
Domestic supply chain
875,517
927,904
942,219
International
Total revenues
COST OF SALES:
Domestic company-owned stores
278,297
267,066
247,391
Domestic supply chain
778,510
831,665
843,329
International
Total cost of sales
OPERATING MARGIN
438,589
470,516
501,338
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
INCOME FROM OPERATIONS
227,702
259,145
282,331
INTEREST INCOME
244
296
304
INTEREST EXPENSE
(96,810)
(91,635)
(101,448)
OTHER
INCOME BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
138,945
167,806
181,187
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
NET INCOME
$ 87,917
$ 105,361
$ 112,392
EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Common Stock—basic
$ 1.50
$ 1.79
$ 1.99
Common Stock—diluted
$ 1.45
$ 1.71
$ 1.91
Source: 2012 Form 10K, p. 50.
EXHIBIT 7 Domino’s Pizza, Balance Sheets (In thousands except share and per share amounts)
2011
2012
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 50,292
$ 54,813
Restricted cash and cash equivalents
92,612
60,015
Accounts receivable, net of reserves of $5,446 in 2011 and $5,906 in 2012
87,200
94,103
Inventories
30,702
31,061
Notes receivable, net of reserves of $324 in 2011 and $630 in 2012
945
1,858
Prepaid expenses and other
12,232
11,210
Advertising fund assets, restricted
36,281
37,917
Deferred income taxes
Total current assets
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT:
Land and buildings
23,714
24,460
Leasehold and other improvements
79,518
80,279
Equipment
171,726
168,452
Construction in Process
281,010
283,158
Accumulated depreciation and amortization
Property, plant and equipment, net
OTHER ASSETS:
Investments in marketable securities, restricted
1,538
2,097
Notes receivable, less current portion, net of reserves of $1,735 in 2011 and $814 in 2012
5,070
3,028
Deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization of $25,590 in 2011 and $5,201 in 2012
16,051
34,787
Goodwill
16,649
16,598
Capitalized software, net of accumulated amortization of $51,274 in 2011 and $48,381 in 2012
8,176
11,387
Other assets, net of accumulated amortization of $4,070 in 2011 and $4,404 in 2012
8,958
8,635
Deferred income taxes
4,858
3,953
Total other assets
Total assets
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Current portion of long-term debt
$ 904
$ 24,349
Accounts payable
69,714
77,414
Accrued compensation
21,691
21,843
Accrued interest
15,775
15,035
Insurance reserves
13,023
12,964
Legal reserves
10,069
5,025
Advertising fund liabilities
36,281
37,917
Other accrued liabilities
Total current liabilities
$ 197,175
$ 229,498
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Long-term debt, less current portion
$ 1,450,369
$ 1,536,443
Insurance Reserves
21,334
24,195
Deferred income taxes
5,021
7,001
Other accrued liabilities
Total long-term liabilities
Total liabilities
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT:
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 170,000,000 shares authorized; 57,741,208 in 2011 and 56,313,249 in 2012 issued and outstanding
577
563
Preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share; 5,000,000 shares authorized, none issued
−
−
Additional paid-in capital
−
1,664
Retained deficit
(1,207,915)
(1,335,364)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Total stockholders’ deficit
(1,209,739)
(1,335,523)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit
Source: 2012 Form 10K, pp 48-49.
Competitors
Competition in both the USA and international pizza-delivery and carry-out business is extremely intense, with Pizza Hut (owned by Yum Brands) being the largest competitor in the industry. Pizza Hut’s revenues are more than 60 percent greater than Domino’s. Papa John’s and Little Caesars are also fierce rivals in the industry. In fact, Little Caesars was listed as the fastest-growing pizza chain in 2010, with revenues up 13.6 percent over 2009, followed by Pizza Hut’s 8 percent increase and Domino’s 7.2 percent increase. In addition to the three main rivals, Domino’s faces intense competition from many local mom-and-pop pizza stores, frozen pizzas from the grocery store, as well as hundreds of non-pizza fast-food options. Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa John’s account for 51 percent of all consumer spending on pizza delivery stores in the USA, with the other 49 percent coming from regional or mom-and-pop establishments.
Internationally, Pizza Hut and Domino’s are the main players in the industry, but various countries have numerous national companies and thousands of mom-and-pop pizza and Italian restaurants vie for business as well. As with the domestic market, some customers consider local pizza stores to offer better quality products than large chains and are willing to pay marginally higher prices for this perceived quality.
Another competitor is Pizza Inn Holdings, Inc., based in The Colony, Texas. Pizza Inn owns 10 stores and franchises out 300 more stores.
Pizza Hut
A division of Yum Brands, Pizza Hut is based in Plano, Texas, and operates more than 7,200 restaurants in the USA and more than 5,600 restaurants internationally in more than 90 countries. In contrast to Domino’s, almost all Pizza Huts are dine-in restaurants. Pizza Huts serve pan pizza, as well as its thin n’ crispy, stuffed crust, hand tossed, and sicilian. Other menu items include pasta, salads, and sandwiches. Pizza Huts offer dine-in service at its famous redroofed restaurants, as well as carryout and delivery service. About 15 percent of all Pizza Huts are company-operated, whereas the remaining stores are franchised. The world’s largest fast food company, YUM Brands also owns and operates Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Long John Silvers, and Taco Bell. Pizza Hut is Domino’s major pizza rival outside of the USA.
Papa John’s International, Inc.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and founded in 1985, Papa John’s operates 3,883 pizza restaurants with 3,255 of these being franchisee-owned and 628 being company-owned stores. Papa John’s has restaurants in all 50 U.S. states and 32 foreign markets. The company currently has 16,500 full-time employees and markets its pizza under the slogan “better ingredients, better pizza.” Between 2001 and 2012, Papa John’s was ranked number one (by the American Customer Satisfaction Index) among national pizza chains for 10 of the 11 years during this period. The company reported revenue of more than $1.2 billion for year-end 2011, and consistent with the industry, it shows no revenue allocated to research and development. Papa John’s carries $75 million in goodwill on its balance sheet; founder and CEO John Schnatter owns more than 20 percent of the chain. Papa John’s offers several different pizza styles and topping choices, as well as a few specialty pies such as The Works and The Meats. Papa John’s stores typically offer delivery and carryout service only.
Exhibit 8 provides a comparison between Domino’s and Papa John’s. Note that Domino’s appears to generate more revenue with less employees, but that is not true because employees at franchised stores are not Domino’s employees. Pizza Inn’s 57 employees work at company-owned restaurants, not franchised stores.
Pizza Inn Holdings, Inc.
Pizza Inn is a relatively small chain of franchised quick-service pizza restaurants, with more than 300 locations in the USA and the Middle East. Pizza Inns offer pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches, along with salads and desserts. Most locations offer buffet-style and table service, whereas other units are strictly delivery and carryout units. The chain also has limited-menu express carryout units in convenience stores and airport terminals, and on college campuses. Pizza Inn’s domestic locations are concentrated in more than 15 southern states, with about half located in Texas and North Carolina.
Little Caesars
Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, and privately held, Little Caesars is famous for its advertising slogan, “Pizza! Pizza!” which was introduced in 1979. The phrase refers to two pizzas being offered for the comparable price of a single pizza from competitors. In November 2010, Little Caesars introduced Pizza! Pizza! Pantastic, denying that the return of “Pizza! Pizza!” had any relationship to the recent success of Domino’s. Little Caesars operates under its parent Little Caesars Enterprises and is estimated to be the fourth largest pizza chain in the USA. Little Caesars operates in 30 foreign countries.
External Issues
EXHIBIT 8 A Comparison Between Domino’s and Papa John’s
Domino’s
Papa John’s
Pizza Inn Holdings
Revenue
1.65B
1.24B
43.5M
Market Capitalization
1.76B
1.16B
20.1M
Gross Margin
0.29
0.31
0.12
Net Income
98.99M
55.97M
888K
EPS
1.63
2.24
0.10
Price/Earnings Ratio
18.67
21.69
24.51
Number of Employees
10K
16.5K
57
EPS, earnings per share.
Source: Company documents.
Domino’s competes in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) pizza category, which consists of two categories: 1) delivery and 2) carry-out. Delivery revenues for the industry in 2012 were $9.6 billion, up only slightly the last few years. The delivery portion accounts for 30 percent of the total QSP pizza revenues. However, the carry-out portion of the industry grew revenues from $14.1 billion in 2011 to $14.6 billion in 2012. Domino’s is the market leader in delivery and second largest in carry-out. Outside of the USA, pizza delivery is underdeveloped, with Domino’s and one rival being the only firms.
Nutrition Concerns
An area of concern for all fast-food establishments, including pizza stores, is the growing health-minded customer, as well as the growing pressure from government agencies to label all products with nutrition information. There have been battles between the restaurant industry and government agencies for many years, but much like the tobacco industry (in respect to labeling its products). It appears the war is close to being lost for the restaurant industry. Domino’s itemizes nutrition information on its website, but forces the customer to add the calories for crust, sauce, cheese, and topping, and then divide by the number of slices to derive the total calorie count per slice. After doing the calculations, one large slice of hand-tossed pepperoni pizza for example has 300 calories and 12 grams of fat, and there are 8 slices in a pizza. To complicate matters for restaurants such as Domino’s, it is difficult to provide accurate nutrition labels when there can be an almost endless combination of ingredients on a pizza. For example, someone may order a large sausage pizza with onions and olives whereas someone else might order extra cheese and tomatoes. Having to print out nutrition labels for all these combinations would be quite costly as opposed to a restaurant like McDonald’s where it can print the nutrition label on the Big Mac because there is uniformity in ingredients and the label is understood to be for the base item. However, Domino’s PULSE system could possibly be adjusted to resolve this potential issue.
Chipotle Mexican Grill claims to only use meat and dairy products from free-ranging cattle, as opposed to cattle injected with growth hormones. Domino’s Pizza markets its pizzas as having gluten-free crust. This is an attempt to win over health-conscious customers, comply with government regulations, and make current customers feel a little less guilty about eating pizza. The tug of war between customers, governments, lawyers, and the restaurant industry on health issues is likely to continue for some time.
In response to these challenges, many restaurants have opted for healthy menu options. Wendy’s, for example, has promoted several meal combinations that contain less than 10 grams of fat. All of these items were originally on its menu, just not marketed in that manner. Wendy’s has added side salads and fruit to help cut down on calories, fat, and sodium. Subway is also famous for marketing its products as healthy alternatives to other fast-food options. Domino’s, and many pizza competitors, offer few to no menu options for the health-conscious consumer.