The takeaway market is seeing continued growth with Domino’s Pizza the latest operator to post positive results.
In 2008 the pizza chain saw pre-tax profits rise almost 25 per cent to £23.4m with like-for-like sales up 10 per cent across its 450 ‘mature stores’.
Domino’s chairman Stephen Hemsley said figures remained strong throughout the 52 weeks to December 28 and that the company was on track to open 1,000 new stores over the next 10 years.
He said: “Our business model is proving to be extremely resilient during the downturn as people dine out less and order from a trusted brand that offers great value for money. We believe that current market conditions will allow us to further increase our market share and strengthen our position in the home delivery market. We therefore look forward to the future with confidence.”
Valentine's Day
The news of Domino’s growth comes as takeaway website, just-eat.co.uk reports that three quarters of couples decided to stay at home on Valentine’s Day.
Despite efforts by restaurants to pull in diners on Valentine’s Day with promotions, a survey of 1,108 people by the website, found the number dining out that day dropped from 52 per cent last year to 24 per cent this year.
Just-eat chief executive David Buttress said: “Our own sales stats proved that Valentine’s Day this year was definitely affected by the recession. Saturday was the busiest day we’ve ever had, eclipsing even New Year, our previous record.”
Job opportunities rise
As a result of expansion, takeaway operators are also increasing the number of job opportunities. Domino`s will create 1,500 jobs with the opening of 50 sites this year, while KFC said yesterday that it is planning to create 9,000 new UK jobs by opening 300 new outlets over the next five years. Last month Subway said it would open 600 new stores over the next year, creating 7,000 new jobs.