Domino’s Pizza is not adverse to change.

On Tuesday, a few years after rebooting their pizza-making process, the once-king of pizza delivery announced some dramatic changes to their overall brand. Not only are they changing their iconic logo (above), subtracting the Domino’s name, but more importantly, they are updating their store locations.

Instead of the current pick-up locations, which are best suited to hanging out as briefly as possible, the new “stores of the future” will likely feature a “comfortable lobby, open-area viewing of the food preparation process, including a step platform for children to see the action, and the ability to order from a kiosk and track carryout orders electronically.”

Further, showing their commitment to this process, Domino’s plans to build all future stores with such features – all of which are a big departure from most of their locations (a dozen new stores across the country are now open).

This is clearly a bold more for the company – and a monster investment. I have to give the company credit, because they clearly sensed that they were losing market share and could not continue the status quo (whether it was too late remains to be seen). They changed their pizza, many menu items, and now the customer experience.

For many people, it will take time to view the delivery giant from a new perspective. While a pizza lounge sounds like a hip idea, Domino’s has a long history, very little of which is associated with cool or even good food.

I am lukewarm on the idea, mostly because I’m not sure the verdict is in on their new pizza recipe, and if the pie isn’t good, forget the restaurant. That said, I do like the plunge, and this has clearly been vetted by their top folks over many years (not sure if that is a good or bad thing).

They have a long way to go in my book before I call them (or visit their stores) over my local pie joints, but I will be paying close attention to the results.

Has anyone seen one of their new locations? Do you think this rebrand has legs? Would you classify this as innovation or desperation?

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JT

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One Response

  1. Denis

    It seems like a horrendous waste of resources and money. Reeks of fast food places trying to be fast-casual and beyond, etc. Domino’s could easily make very small changes to their product quality and process and make a big impression on me. I mean, they use low 450F degree ovens. So you get crust that you can make in your home oven and an overly salty/sugary dough/sauce.

    Yes, it’s fast food pizza, so it’s going to be high in sodium, but I respect their recipe fiddling (their “artisan” baloney excluded) much more than thinking giving people a hip atmosphere and a “lounge” means anything. That just says that they’ve given up and want to dazzle people with shiny objects now.

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