It has been an action-packed year for Domino’s Pizza and our local business owners.  Here are a few of the highlights to jog your memory…..

 

In January Domino’s Pizza announced it would remove all hydrogenated fats from its products by the end of July 2007. The removal of hydrogenated fats was a first in the pizza sector and is another demonstration of Domino’s ongoing commitment to providing customers with premium quality food and clear nutritional information. 

 

February saw the launch of The Meateorä, hot on the heels of the record-breaking success of the MeltDownä Pizza. Domino’s also announced plans for expansion in Birmingham, the North West, Scotland and Wales as part of  its aim to open up to 50 stores in 2007.

 

In March celebrations ran long into the night at Alton Towers as Domino’s recognised another year of excellence for franchisees and team members at its annual Pizza awards. Edgbaston pizza expert, Frankie Russell, was awarded the coveted titles of Domino’s Pizza ‘Manager of the Year’ and ‘European Manager of the Year’ for her increased store sales and exceptional customer service and food standards. Topping this, she went on to win ‘International Manager of the Year’ in Las Vegas later that month. Well done Frankie!

 

Domino’s launched an innovative new ‘Real Time’ monitoring system in April, to measure and drive store performance in order to get pizza ‘out-the-door’ in the minimum amount of time. The initiative is boosting customer service levels at Domino’s nationwide.

 

May saw Domino’s scoop the silver award at the British Franchisee Association’s 2007 ‘Franchisor of the Year Awards’. The awards seek out the top performing franchisors in the UK, highlighting the increasing influence of a market sector now worth £10 billion a year.

 

May was also a great month for Antony Tagliamonti, franchisee of four Domino’s pizza stores in Essex and the 2006 bfa Franchisee of the Year. Antony was awarded a Caterer & Hotelkeeper ‘Acorn’ award for his outstanding business achievements in the hospitality and catering industry. He beat off stiff competition to be named one of 30 people under the age of 30 who were recognised for their commitment and dedication to the hospitality industry. Keep up the good work Antony!

 

In June Domino’s was awarded ‘Best Private Investor Relations’ at the first AIM Investment Awards. The award recognised Domino’s efforts in engaging its investors and keeping them informed of company developments and was voted for by 36,000 readers of Investors Chronicle.

 

Interim results in July for the 26 weeks ending 1 July 2007 revealed a system sales increase of 24% to £142.5m, compared to the same period in 2006, and a pre-profit tax increase of 35% to £8.3m.

 

August saw Domino’s launch the UK’s first ever SMS pizza order service. Over 2,000 users signed up for the service in just one month.

 

In September, East Lothian pizza expert Robin Reid was awarded an ‘Enterprise in Education Business’ award from East Lothian Council for his work developing a new food hygiene and nutrition programme for East Lothian schools. Groups of children visit Musselburgh Domino’s Pizza store every week to learn about basic food hygiene, nutrition and how to make a pizza. Congratulations Robin!

 

Chris Moore, Deputy Chief Executive of Domino’s Pizza, received the great news of his promotion to Chief Executive in October, taking the reins from Stephen Hemsley in January 2008. At this time, the number of stores increased to 480.

 

Weekly web sales reached an all time high for Domino’s Pizza in November as customers placed £1m of online orders for the first time. The milestone follows a major focus on its e-commerce channels and internet profile this year. In this month Domino’s also won the Pizza And Pasta Association (PAPA) Pizza Delivery Operator of the Year award for the 2nd year running.

 

Domino’s local store owners provided some festive cheer for people wanting to earn some cash in the run up to Christmas by announcing the creation of 2000 full and part-time positions in total. Definitely the season to be jolly!