As a franchise business, Domino’s Pizza Group is reliant on its franchisees to keep opening new stores. Until recently, it was an arrangement that appeared to work well for both parties. In November 2016 it upped its target for stores in the UK from 1,200 to 1,600 and the following year there were a record 95 openings up and down the country (Dominic Walsh writes).
Since then, things have not quite gone to plan. Admittedly, 95 was a bit of a one-off and this time last year the company predicted the number of openings at between 65 and 75. Even that proved over-ambitious, however, as relations with its franchisees deteriorated and the company ended the year with 58 more stores than it had started with.