Domino’s hit as punters earn a thinner crust

Cost-conscious pizza lovers are spending less at Domino’s as customers start to feel the squeeze of rising prices and stalling incomes, the food firm said today.

David Wild, boss of the pizza chain, said: “Customers are a bit more value conscious than they were last year but pizza is still the most popular delivered food by far.”

Domino’s is planning a £4 million discounting campaign this autumn, backed by new adverts, which it hopes will tempt hungry consumers to open their wallets.

Growth in the pizzas market is expected to be about 3% lower than it was last year, Wild said, although Domino’s first-half sales increased by 10.3%, as 40 new stores were opened.

However same-store sales were up just 2.4% in the same period, down from 17% last year. The shares have fallen by almost 30% since last year’s results on concerns that the business is maturing and slipped 7% to 260p today. That’s despite the company recording its biggest ever one-day sale with 1,044,784 pizzas being sold on the May Day bank holiday.

Franchisees have been able to put up prices by 3% in recent months, but food cost inflation is running at 4.5%, squeezing margins.

It continues to see growth in online sales and people can order through Amazon Echo from this week.