{"id":1173230,"date":"2022-08-10T18:12:07","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T18:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/08\/10\/dominos-pulls-out-of-the-birthplace-of-pizza\/"},"modified":"2022-08-10T18:12:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T18:12:07","slug":"dominos-pulls-out-of-the-birthplace-of-pizza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/08\/10\/dominos-pulls-out-of-the-birthplace-of-pizza\/","title":{"rendered":"Domino’s pulls out of the birthplace of pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Domino’s Pizza \/ Credit: GETTY IMAGES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Domino\u2019s Pizza\u2019s last stores in Italy have been closed after the firm that operated its outlets in the country filed for bankruptcy, reports say.<\/p>\n

Franchise holder ePizza SpA was hit by the pandemic, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the story.<\/p>\n

Domino\u2019s had struggled to win over customers in the birthplace of pizza since launching there in 2015.<\/p>\n

News of the fast food giant\u2019s exit from the country was celebrated by some social media users.<\/p>\n

EPizza SpA first filed for bankruptcy in early April after it was impacted by coronavirus restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent and prolonged restrictions from a financial point of view have seriously damaged ePizza,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

The company also said it faced increasing competition as traditional restaurants started using delivery apps.<\/p>\n

As part of the bankruptcy process the firm was granted protection from its creditors for 90 days. However, that protection came to an end last month.<\/p>\n

The Italian firm had already been scaling back the business from its peak in 2020, while deliveries stopped from the end of July.<\/p>\n

As of 2020, the company directly managed 23 outlets in Italy and another six stores were run through sub-franchising, according to the bankruptcy documents.<\/p>\n

In comparison, the UK and Ireland has more than 1,200 stores, making it the biggest Domino\u2019s market in Europe.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s largest pizza chain has more than 18,300 stores in over 90 international markets globally, most of which are run as franchisees.<\/p>\n

When it entered Italy seven years ago Domino\u2019s aimed to stand out from the country\u2019s traditional pizza makers with a comprehensive home delivery service and a distinctive menu including US-style toppings like pineapple.<\/p>\n

However, it faced increasingly stiff competition during the pandemic as local restaurants signed up to food delivery platforms like Deliveroo and Just Eat.<\/p>\n

News that Domino\u2019s was leaving the home of pizza was cheered by some social media users.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wondered how Domino\u2019s could survive in New Jersey, let alone Italy,\u201d journalist Dave Jamieson tweeted.<\/p>\n

Another Twitter user, Alicia Smith, remarked that opening Domino\u2019s in Italy is\u00a0like trying to sell snow in the North Pole.<\/p>\n

Domino\u2019s Pizza and ePizza SpA did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.<\/p>\n

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