Domino's Pizza tried to crack Italy - and it went as badly as you'd expect | indy100

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Italy is saying arrivederci to Domino's Pizza after seven years of business.

Back in 2015, the chain pizza restaurant opened up stores first in Milan then sprouted 28 more locations around Italy, with the hopes of adding 880 more.

But it seems the Italians weren't extremely fond of the fast-food pizza chain as all 29 stores have closed.

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Opened in partnership with ePizza SpA, Domino's hoped to bring the easy, casual, and American-style pizza to Italians while still adhering to Italian traditions.

But the seven-year-long attempt at bringing pizza to the pizza capital of the world has failed according to reports.

“We attribute the issue to the significantly increased level of competition in the food delivery market with both organized chains and ‘mom & pop’ restaurants delivering food, to service and restaurants reopening post pandemic and consumers out and about with revenge spending,” Bloomberg reported ePizza SpA said in a report to investors.

Upon hearing the news that Italian Domino's franchises would be closing, people online joked that selling franchise pizza to Italians was a bad idea from the start.

\u201cTrying to open Dominos Pizza in Italy is like trying to sell snow in the North Pole.\u201d
— Alicia Smith (@Alicia Smith) 1660053655

\u201cI\u2019m sorry but what made Dominos think they should go anywhere near Italy with that pizza?\u201d
— Ms. Derpanis (@Ms. Derpanis) 1660053836

"Dominos pizza failing in Italy. Who would have thought. Enlightening", a Twitter user wrote.

"If you ever feel you're being outrageously over-confident about something, just remember that Dominos thought they'd be able to justify opening 880 stores in Italy." Damon tweeted.

\u201cReading more articles about this and I\u2019m actually laughing\n\nI\u2019m sorry Dominos but what did you expect? It\u2019s Italy! Of course they want their own pizza\n\nGo do your thing in other countries\nLet Italy be\u201d
— Siti / Miss Dutch (@Siti / Miss Dutch) 1660049225

While many people felt the closures were expected, people in Italy were surprised by the closings as there was no official statement from Domino's or ePizza.

The Instagram account for Domino's Italy has also remained silent about the closings, saying they're "working on" closed stores.

"How come the one in Milan in Via Martinella is closed?" An Instagram commenter asked.

Domino's Italy responded: "We're working on it, but it'll reopen in a few days".

Similar comments appeared when people inquired about store closures in Bologna and other cities.

We reached out to Domino's Pizza for comment.

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