After looking at other, more crowded markets, Domino’s brand pizza has decided to open a franchise in South Africa, saying it is a brand new and lucrative market.

Domino’s Pizza, which recently opened a chain in Nigeria, is now planning to produce more pizza in Africa by opening chains in South Africa. Taste Holdings has now entered into a 30-year agreement to open stores in South Africa, as well as Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana and potentially Zambia and Malawi.

Domino’s is one of the largest pizza delivery brands in the world.  It has nearly 11,000 outlets and has stores in 70 different countries, and now those countries will include South Africa.

More and more businesses are opening places in South Africa, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King and Cold Stone Creamery.

“We are looking at opening five or six stores [for Domino’s Pizza] this year,” said Jean-Claude Meyer, Domino’s Pizza CEO, in an interview with How We Made it in Africa.

However, the expansion of their brand is spreading a lot slower than KFC, with only four stores in the market so far.

“Let’s face it, KFC has gone much faster than we have.  I don’t believe we will be at 23-25 stores after three and a half years, but that is not our goal. KFC is selling chicken and chicken is an obvious seller in Africa. But pizza is not the same and we are still in the process of educating people a year and a half after rolling out[…]” Meyer said in an interview with How We Made it in Africa.

Domino’s Pizza will be partnering with pizza brands in South Africa that are already established and remodeling some of their stores. However, even though they are buying out some of the Scooters and St. Elmo’s Pizza stores, they plan to keep the local favorites.

“We’re very excited to be working alongside our new partners in establishing Domino’s as the preeminent pizza brand in South Africa and in the other markets where Taste Holdings is already established,” said Ritch Allison, Domino’s Pizza executive vice president of international in an interview with Yahoo! Finance.

In addition to keeping the favorite pizzas of the previous brands from South Africa, Domino’s plans to “Nigerianize” its products and create a special menu geared towards the tastes of their new customers.

“We have been able to roll out a couple of pizzas, for example the Chicken Suya pizza, which is a good seller and accepted very well in the market here,” Meyer said in an interview with How We Made it in Africa.  Domino’s is also offering Jollof rice, a popular West African dish, as a pizza topping.

Domino’s decision to enter the market of pizza in Africa will be beneficial to both the company and the people of South Africa.

“We looked at markets around the world, and there are very few markets…where the number one or two positions isn’t occupied by Domino’s or Pizza Hut…We would certainly rather be trading under a global brand, than a local brand,” Meyer said.

Domino’s decision to open its franchises in many different African countries will bring more jobs to the country and aid in diminishing global poverty over the next 30 or more years.  Their decision also helps them become better known in a market where they have previously been unheard of; it also helps them spread their brand globally.

– Cara Morgan

Sources: How We Made it in Africa 1, How We Made it in Africa 2, Yahoo Finance
Photo: CNN