Pizza brand Domino’s closes stores in South Africa

South Africa’s once high-flying pizza industry has been dealt a blow with the announcement that the Domino’s Pizza business is being liquidated. An estimated 55 stores and about 770 employees will be impacted by the closure, which is with immediate effect.

The stores are all owned by Taste Holdings, the master franchise holder for South Africa. A total of 16 franchised outlets will continue to trade, with Taste Holdings management providing assistance where possible, the company said.

Taste Holdings has been attempting for some time to sell the Domino’s business and has been receiving financial assistance from Domino’s Pizza International, the global owner of the brand, for some time. 

However, when that support ceased and a buyer for the South African business could not be found, the decision was taken to close the stores.

Domino’s demise is a combination of the difficult times being experienced by Taste Holdings, which is exiting the food business and attempting to reinvent itself as a purely luxury retail group, and a change in the fortunes of the local pizza industry over the years, where tough competition and heavy discounting is chomping away at profitability.