Date:25/11/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/11/25/stories/2005112502500800.htm

Back Domino's to invest Rs 14 crore in expansion, innovation

Dharini Nagarajan

New Delhi , Nov. 24

FAST food chain Domino's Pizza India Ltd is poised for expansion and innovation in the near future and will be investing around Rs 14 crore in it.

Domino's plans to open six outlets by December this year and add another 25 by the next. Currently, Domino's has 105 stores in 27 cities across the country and will increase the number to 115 by March 2006. "We would be opening outlets in major tier-one towns including Jaipur, Visakhapatnam and Bhopal," Mr Ajay Kaul, CEO, Indian Subcontinent, Domino's Pizza India Ltd, said.

Having opened 16 stores since April this year and recording a growth rate of 45 per cent, Mr Kaul feels that the chain is already `outperforming the market' as he forecasts the domestic pizza market to be growing at 25 per cent annually.

Domino's currently holds a market share of around 40 per cent of the organised pizza market and is looking at various innovation techniques such as its latest `Cheese Burger Pizza' to sustain the growth figures in the coming years. Priced between Rs 200 and Rs 260, Mr Kaul hopes that the `fancy' pizza would follow the success trail of its Double Cheez Crunch Pizza.

The major marketing campaign undertaken to promote this unique offering amounts to Rs 5 crore and would feature Bollywood star Paresh Rawal.

The company would invest another Rs 8 crore in relocating its factories in Delhi and Bangalore to meet the requirement to deliver raw material such as dough, for its products in the new set of outlets it plans to open. Simultaneously, it would also set up satellite commissary units, to ensure timely delivery, in small cities starting with Chandigarh with an investment of around Rs 50 lakh.

Looking at other avenues such as structural innovation, Mr Kaul said, "As there is a growing use of the Internet and mobile phones, the company is looking to keep pace and would be establishing new state-of-the-art Point of Sale (POS) system that would be scaleable to the touch screen system." The company is investing around Rs 50 lakh in the tech innovation.

The company is also toying with the idea of opening franchisees for its outlets in B class cities such as Indore and Aurangabad.