veYour neighborhood Domino’s outlet may soon get a facelift, going by the company’s plans to substantially improve the ‘dine-in’ experience at its outlets in anticipation of more competition in the value-for-money pizza space.
At present, the company is largely focused on the delivery model, and gets about 66% of its revenue this way.
Moreover, the contribution of dine-in customers to its total revenue has been on the decline, falling to around 34% at the present from nearly 38% in Apr-Jun last year.
However, Jubilant Foodworks, which runs Dominos in India, has started revamping the stores to give them a more premium and customer friendly feel, starting with the one in Sector 29, Gurugram.
”There is no difference in the area, but there is a difference in the amount of furniture we have been able to put in the same area,” said Sameer Khetarpal, CEO and MD, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited.
“They are ergonomically designed for dine in…It is a more upgraded version of the current stores, the furniture is more comfortable..The counters are made more amiable and colorful..We also have a set of private seating arrangements wherever we can,” he added
The new format is called ACE 2.0, and has already been launched in 33 locations. The company plans to have 100-plus stores under this format by March.
One of the aspects of the new design will be the separation of the dine in portion from the delivery portion, with most of the delivery activities happening from the rear side of the store.
“We have been able to optimize the back of the house to improve our processes..as much as possible the delivery associates do not enter from the front, they enter from the back and leave from the back,” he added
The move comes even as Pizza Hut, Domino’s biggest competitor in India, has announced plans to enter the value-for-money segment.
Pizza Hut had never been a strong competitor to Domino’s so far as Pizza Hut’s prices are usually 20-30% higher than Domino’s offerings.
However, when it comes to the dine-in experience and ambience, Pizza Hut is considered superior to Domino’s, which has traditionally offered a more basic look and feel at its restaurants.
Separately, the company reported a 4.5% year-on-year (YoY) rise in revenues to Rs 13,448 million, while net profit declined 39.5% YoY to Rs 721 million during the quarter.