Rethinking Domino's Expansion Plans

Pavan Bhatia went about opening Domino's outlets across the country. The number of outlets multiplied four fold to 100 between March 2000 and January 2001. It was the fastest growth Domino's had in any of the 63 countries it operated in. From an average of four stores every year in its first four years of operation, Domino's expanded to more than 100 outlets in 10 months across 30 cities.

Domino's entered into an agreement with a real estate consultant CB Richard Ellis to help with locations, conduct feasibility studies, and manage the construction. Pavan Bhatia said, "We are in the business of selling pizzas, not hunting for real estate.

Pavan Bhatia realized that fast track growth could be achieved only by focussing on the core business of selling pizza.

He said, "We realised we'd be wasting too much time, money and resources trying to do it all ourselves. For instance, just acquiring a bunch of permits for each store in each city is itself a big job. Then there are the brokers, city laws, markets, licensing, title, infrastructure, water, power, lease agreements, signage and most important, dealing with competing restaurants." CB Richards not only managed to take care of all these hassles but also furnished the outlets. Domino's also opened outlets at large corporate offices, cinema halls and university campuses...