Popular pizza chain closes multiple locations unexpectedly
It has been a rough period for pizza chains as even the biggest players have shown a drop in sales.
Nearly everyone loves pizza, but it's such a popular food that competition across all areas of the business has become intense.
It seems like a new frozen pizza brand comes out every month, and chains like Bertucci's, which has closed many restaurants under its current Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, has struggled to compete with cheaper chains like Domino's and Papa Johns.
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Even Domino's, which boasted a 20-year streak of United States same-store sales increases, posted some stunning results earlier this year.
"In the company’s first-quarter earnings report for 2025, it revealed that while its revenues increased by 2.5% year-over-year, its U.S. same-store sales declined by 0.5% during the quarter," The Street's Patricia Battle reported.
That's a very small drop, but it shows that no company can increase sales forever, even if it seemed like Domino's (DPZ) could. Domino's CFO Sandeep Eddy explained the drop.
"Same store sales declined 0.5%, which was slightly below our expectations. We benefited from 1.8% of pricing, which was inclusive of high-single-digits in California. This was more than offset by negative traffic and a slight decline in our mix due to a higher carryout business that carries a lower ticket than delivery. Our carryout business comps were up 1%, while delivery was down 1.5% in the quarter. Our delivery business continues to be impacted by macro pressures that are impacting the low-income consumer," he shared during the chain's first-quarter earnings call.
