Domino’s Poised To Overtake Pizza Hut As The Nation’s Largest Pizza Chain
For years, Pizza Hut has stood tall as America’s largest pizza chain. However, they are now facing a threat to that title, as Domino’s is in a financial position to leapfrog past its longtime rival for the top spot.
Domino’s has been enjoying a lengthy period of massive financial growth that’s pushed its stock price up over 2000% since 2010. Same-store sales haven’t decreased in a single quarter since the beginning of 2011, an impressive feat in an increasingly competitive fast food industry. Domino’s most recent earnings call put them at an 8.4% growth in same-store sales just over the past three months, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
With that rapid pace of success, it’s only a matter of time before Domino’s becomes the nation’s largest pizza chain. To do that this year, Domino’s needed to boost its system sales by 8% if Pizza Hut showed no growth. Pizza Hut has actually dropped five percent in sales in the first half of 2017 alone, according to their financial statements. Domino’s has averaged about 9% sales growth per quarter in the same span, making it likely they’ll take the top pizza spot soon — if they haven’t already.
Domino’s rise has been largely attributed to a versatility in technology options. Everything from apps, Amazon Echo devices, TVs, and even cars can be used to order pizzas, making ordering from Domino’s extremely omnipresent. Domino’s has also seen an increase in on-site pickups thanks to crucial remodeling at their brick-and-mortar locations.
In fact, Domino’s has been so successful in bringing sales over recent years that the 8.4% growth in the past quarter was considered to be a “slump” by investors, as Domino’s typically hits double digits in same-store sales increases. Nonetheless, the pizza purveyors are expected to continue to flourish, and should become America’s largest pizza chain before Pizza Hut has a chance to catch up.
