Domino's facts for kids
Logo used since 2012
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Headquarters in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan
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Formerly
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| Traded as | |
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US25754A2015 US25754A2015] |
| Industry | |
| Founded | December 9, 1960 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, U.S. |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | Domino's Farms,
Ann Arbor Township, Michigan
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Number of locations
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21,366 (2024) |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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David A. Brandon (chairman) Russell Weiner (CEO) |
| Products | |
| Services | Food delivery |
| Revenue |  US$4.71 billion (2024) |
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Operating income
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US$879 million (2024) |
| US$584 million (2024) |
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| Total assets | US$1.74 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | ▲ −US$3.96 billion (2024) |
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Number of employees
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10,700 (2024) |
Domino's Pizza, Inc., often called Domino's, is a big American pizza restaurant company. It started in 1960 and is now led by CEO Russell Weiner. The company's main office is in Ann Arbor Township, Michigan, in a place called Domino's Farms. Domino's has stores in over 83 countries and many cities around the world.
Contents
History of Domino's Pizza
Early Years (1960s–2010s)
In 1960, brothers Tom Monaghan and Jim Monaghan took over a small pizza place called DomiNick's. It was in Ypsilanti, Michigan, near Eastern Michigan University. They paid $500 down and borrowed $900 more to buy the store.
Jim soon traded his share of the business to Tom for their Volkswagen Beetle delivery car. By 1965, Tom Monaghan owned three pizza stores. He wanted them all to have the same name. The original owner of DomiNick's said no. One day, an employee suggested the name "Domino's". Tom loved it, and in 1965, the business officially became Domino's Pizza, Inc.
The first Domino's logo had three dots, one for each of the three stores in 1965. Tom Monaghan planned to add a new dot for every new store. But Domino's grew so fast that this idea quickly stopped. Domino's Pizza opened its first franchise store in 1967. By 1978, the company had grown to 200 stores.
In 1998, after owning the company for 38 years, Tom Monaghan retired. He sold most of the company to Bain Capital for about $1 billion. A year later, Dave Brandon became the new CEO.
The Leaning Tower of Pizza Idea
The Leaning Tower of Pizza was a plan for a tall, slanted building. It was meant to be the main office for Domino's Pizza at its Domino's Farms campus. In the mid-1980s, Tom Monaghan wanted a unique building.
He worked with architect Gunnar Birkerts, who designed a tower that would lean at a 15-degree angle. People quickly nicknamed it "The Leaning Tower of Pizza," like Italy's famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. This building was never built. However, a 50-foot (15-meter) tall model of the tower stands at the Domino's headquarters in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan.
Domino's Goes Global
On May 12, 1983, Domino's opened its first store outside the United States. This store was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. That same year, Domino's opened its 1,000th store overall in Vancouver, Washington. In 1985, the chain opened its first store in the United Kingdom in Luton. Also in 1985, Domino's opened its first store in Tokyo, Japan.
By 1995, Domino's had 1,000 stores outside the U.S. In 1997, Domino's opened its 1,500th international store. They opened seven stores in one day across five different continents! By 2014, the company had 6,000 international locations. They even opened a store in Italy, the birthplace of pizza, in Milan on October 5, 2015. However, Domino's left Italy in 2022 because of strong competition from local restaurants.
In February 2016, Domino's opened its 1,000th store in India. India now has the most Domino's stores outside of the United States.
Domino's in China
Domino's Pizza in China is called Dá Měi Lè (达美乐). As of October 2019, Domino's Pizza China had about 250 stores in nine cities. These cities include Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Domino's Pizza China offers special pizzas like potato bacon pizza and durian pulp pizza. They also have Sichuan pepper-flavor chicken drumsticks.
The first store in mainland China opened in Shenzhen in 1997. In China, over 90% of orders are placed online. Customers can order on the company website, through their app, or using the messaging app WeChat.
Recent Years (2000s–Present)
In 2004, Domino's started selling its stock on the New York Stock Exchange. This meant people could buy shares in the company. Pizza Today magazine named Domino's Pizza "Chain of the Year" in 2003, 2010, and 2011.
In January 2006, Domino's celebrated opening its 5,000th American store in Huntley, Illinois. At the same time, they opened their 3,000th international store in Panama City, Panama. This made a total of 8,000 stores worldwide.
In August 2012, Domino's Pizza changed its name to simply Domino's. They also updated their logo. The new logo removed the blue rectangle and text. It changed the domino to be blue on the two-dot side and red on the one-dot side. This change happened because the company wanted to offer more than just pizza.
In April 2022, Domino's in Italy closed all its stores. This was due to tough competition from local pizza places. These local places started using food delivery apps like Glovo and Deliveroo.
In December 2024, Domino's announced it would move its stock to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. This change happened on January 2, 2025. The company kept its stock symbol "DPZ".
Domino's announced on February 7, 2025, that it plans to close over 200 stores around the world. Most of these closures, 172 stores, are in Japan. This decision was made to help the company save about $9.8 million.
Domino's Products
The Domino's menu is different in various parts of the world. In the United States, the menu has many Italian-American main dishes and side dishes. Pizza is the main focus. They offer traditional, specialty, and custom pizzas with different crusts and toppings. In 2011, Domino's started offering "artisan-style" pizzas.
Other main dishes include pasta, bread bowls, and oven-baked sandwiches. The menu also has chicken and bread side dishes, drinks, and desserts.
For many years, the Domino's menu was very simple. This helped them deliver food quickly. It used to have only one pizza crust style in two sizes. There were eleven toppings and only Coca-Cola to drink.
The menu grew in 1989 when Domino's added deep dish pizza. In 2002, they added "Buffalo Chicken Kickers." These were breaded, baked chicken pieces, like chicken fingers. In August 2003, Domino's launched the "Philly Cheese Steak Pizza."
In 2006, Domino's introduced its "Brooklyn Style Pizza." This pizza has a thinner crust and larger slices that can be folded. In 2008, Domino's started offering oven-baked sandwiches. These were made to compete with other sandwich shops.
The company introduced its "American Legends" pizzas in 2009. These pizzas had more cheese and a bigger variety of toppings. That same year, Domino's started selling "BreadBowl Pasta." This was pasta baked inside a lightly seasoned bread bowl. They also added the "Lava Crunch Cake" dessert.
In 2010, Domino's changed its pizza recipe. They improved the dough, sauce, and cheese. In September 2012, Domino's added pan pizza to its menu. In December 2013, Domino's Pizza Israel introduced its first vegan pizza. This pizza uses a cheese substitute made from soy.
Domino's Franchises
As of September 2018, Domino's Pizza has stores in the United States and 83 other countries. This includes places like the Cayman Islands and Kosovo. They have stores in 5,701 cities worldwide. In 2016, Domino's opened its 1,000th store in India. As of early 2018, Domino's had about 15,000 stores. About 5,649 were in the United States, 1,232 in India, and 1,094 in the United Kingdom.
Most of the time, Domino's works with one company to run its stores in each country. However, some companies own the rights to run Domino's in many countries.
- Domino's Pizza Israel started in 1990. They opened their first store in 1993. As of August 2014, they had 33 stores in Israel.
- The company that runs Domino's in Australia, New Zealand, France, and other countries is called Domino's Pizza Enterprises. They bought the rights from the main company in 1993 for Australia and New Zealand. They also bought rights for other European and Asian countries later.
- The company that runs Domino's in the UK and Ireland is called Domino's Pizza Group (DPG). They bought these rights in 1993. They also bought the rights for Germany in 2011.
- In Latin America, the first Domino's store opened in Colombia in 1988. Over the next few years, Domino's opened in Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Peru. The Domino's in Peru closed in 2015 but reopened a year later with new owners.
- The company that runs Domino's in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka is called Jubilant FoodWorks. India is the biggest international market for Domino's outside the U.S. It has over 1,000 Domino's stores. The first store in India opened in Delhi in 1996.
- In Bangladesh, Domino's Pizza is run by a company called 'Domino's Pizza Bangladesh Limited'. This company is owned by Jubilant FoodWorks and Golden Harvest Limited. The first store in Bangladesh opened in February 2019.
- Domino's Pizza opened in downtown Zagreb, Croatia, on July 27, 2020.
- As of 2020, Domino's Pizza had 550 stores in Turkey.
- In Italy, Domino's closed all its stores.
- In Russia, the Domino's network was bought by rapper Timati in August 2023. After the sale, its name changed to Domиno Pizza.
- As of November 2022, Domino's Pizza opened in Montevideo, Uruguay. This was the first store in that region. They plan to open 20 stores in the city in the next five years.
- In Central Asia, Domino's Pizza opened its first store in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in May 2024.
Advertising and Marketing
In the late 1980s, Domino's was known for its ads with a character called the Noid. The Noid was meant to show all the things that could go wrong with pizza delivery. The slogan was "Avoid the Noid." The Noid was briefly brought back in 2011 for a game on Domino's Facebook page.
In March 2009, Domino's accidentally gave away almost 11,000 free medium pizzas. A special code on their website was not turned off. Someone found it and shared it online. Domino's quickly turned off the code and paid the store owners for the free pizzas.
Domino's has also been involved in sports. They sponsored a race car driven by Arie Luyendyk, which won the 1990 Indianapolis 500. In 2003, Domino's partnered with NASCAR to become the "Official Pizza of NASCAR."
In June 2018, Domino's started a project called "Paving for Pizza." They helped fix cracks and potholes on roads in the United States. This was to stop pizzas from getting ruined during delivery. They worked with cities like Burbank, California, and Athens, Georgia. The fixed parts of the road have the Domino's logo and the slogan "OH YES, WE DID."
The 30-Minute Guarantee
Starting in 1973, Domino's Pizza promised customers their pizza would arrive within 30 minutes. If it was late, the pizza would be free. This changed to $3 off in 1987. In 1993, the company stopped the half-hour guarantee. This was because of concerns about delivery drivers speeding.
In December 2007, Domino's introduced a new slogan, "You Got 30 Minutes." This hinted at the old promise but did not guarantee delivery in half an hour.
Domino's still offers the 30-minute guarantee in some countries. These include Colombia, Vietnam, Mexico, China, and India. The rules for this guarantee can be different in each country.
Community and Technology
In 2001, Domino's started a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This group helps make wishes come true for children with serious illnesses. That same year, Domino's stores in New York City and Washington, D.C., gave over 12,000 pizzas to people helping after the September 11 attacks. The company also gave $350,000 to the American Red Cross for disaster relief.
In 2004, Domino's began working with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They have helped raise millions of dollars for the hospital.
In 2007, Domino's launched its online and mobile ordering websites. In 2008, Domino's introduced the Pizza Tracker. This is an online tool that lets customers see how their order is progressing in real time.
In 2009, Domino's decided to completely change its pizza recipe. They started an ad campaign that showed customers criticizing the old pizza. Then, chefs were shown creating the new pizza. The new pizza was launched that same month.
In 2011, Domino's put up a billboard in New York's Times Square. It showed real comments from customers, both good and bad.
In 2015, Domino's showed off a "pizza car." This special car can carry 80 pizzas, side dishes, drinks, and sauces. It also has a 140°F (60°C) oven inside. The car is a Chevrolet Spark that was changed by Roush Performance.
In 2016, Domino's worked with Starship Technologies. They used self-driving robots to deliver pizzas in some cities in Germany and the Netherlands. Also in 2016, Domino's in New Zealand made the world's first pizza delivery by a drone.
In February 2017, Domino's launched a wedding registry. People could get gifts in the form of Domino's eGift cards. Domino's also created a pizza-themed baby registry.
In June 2019, Domino's announced a partnership with a robotics company called Nuro. They planned to use Nuro's self-driving vehicle, R2, for deliveries in Houston, Texas.
In December 2021, the company started offering "surprise frees." These were free items given with deliveries. This was done to make Domino's stand out from other delivery apps that charge fees.
In January 2022, Domino's said it would offer fewer special deals. They also adjusted some menu items because prices were going up. In September, they launched an "Inflation Relief Deal." This gave a 20% discount on online ordering for a short time. In November, Domino's added 800 Chevrolet Bolt cars to its delivery fleet in the United States.
See also
In Spanish: Domino's Pizza para niños
- List of pizza chains
- List of pizza chains of the United States
- List of pizza franchises
- List of pizza varieties by country
