Pizza chain resists partnerships while rivals link with Grubhub, DoorDash
The pizza chain that helped popularize delivery is keeping its pies off other services that allow diners to order all manner of cuisines to their doors.
Delivery has become one of the most divisive issues in the restaurant industry, promising to boost sales at the expense of profit margins. Some companies have pushed for better service and more favorable terms than the 25% of a restaurant’s profit that delivery companies typically take for each order they deliver.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. is one of the largest chains to stay off the new third-party delivery apps altogether. The company relies on its own employees to make deliveries from its 6,000 U.S. stores and most of its 11,000 international ones, and it runs its own online-ordering app. Chief Executive Ritch Allison said the profit hit and reputational risk of working with delivery companies isn’t worth the extra sales.
“As profit is extracted from the industry, I think we’re going to see a lot of players really struggle,” Mr. Allison said in an interview.