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The American pizza chain Domino’s has decided to exit the market of this country seven years after opening its first branches in Italy, the homeland of pizza.
The first Domino’s branch was opened in 2015 in Italy, which registered the “pizza art” centered in Naples among the cultural heritages of humanity.
According to the Italian press, the company was planning to open 880 branches in the country through franchising.
However, contrary to these plans, its existing 29 branches were also completely closed.
The ePizza company, which holds the franchise rights, lost its competitiveness after the pandemic and subsequent restrictions and rising costs, as well as local restaurants increasing their take-out services. The company filed for bankruptcy last April.
With more than 18 thousand branches in more than 90 countries, Domino’s is the largest pizza chain in the world.
The exit of the company from the Italian market was summarized by the financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore as follows:
“Italian pizza and take-out became a formula that beat the American brand.”
“Italians didn’t like pineapple pizza: Domino’s closed all its pizzeria in the country,” the newspaper Il Messaggero wrote.
‘They tried to sell sand to Bedouins’
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Neapolitan pizza
On social media, comments were made that the Italian pizza beat the American chain and that this was a victory for those who rejected the pineapple pizza. One of the comments in Italian on social media was, “It would be a pity if there are people whose jobs are at risk, but they really tried to sell sand to the Bedouins.”
Real Naples Pizza Association General Director Stefano Auricchio said in a statement to the New York Times that he was sorry that the American company’s exit from Italy would weaken the market.
On the other hand, Auricchio added that Italians have a developed taste in pizza and they can distinguish product quality.
The association brings together the masters and businesses that make pizza with the traditional methods of the city of Naples and carries out activities aimed at “defending and appreciating pizza”.
Naples’ traditional way of making pizza is UNESCO in 2017 It was included in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The “traditional Neapolitan art of pizzeria” is considered a special culinary art for reasons such as the way the pizza dough is prepared, the pizza master turning the dough and cooking it in a wood oven.
The Neapolitan Academy of Pizza Masters also organizes courses every year to ensure the continuation of this art.
The word “pizza” appears for the first time in known records in 997, in a document containing the demands of the bishop of the city of Gaeta, near Naples.
The bishop was requesting 12 pizzas for Easter and Christmas each from someone living on his land.