Arrivederci! Domino’s Pizza to leave Italy after it fails to win over local customers, netizens cheer exit

Arrivederci! It’s time for Domino’s Pizza to say goodbye to Italy, just seven years after making its debut in the country, the fast food giant closed the last of its 29 stories in the Italian Peninsula after struggling to gain a foothold in the country, where pizza was born. 

According to Bloomberg, Dominos was struggling to win locals’ hearts just like it did in the United States.

Domino’s tried winning hearts with “purely Italian” ingredients, including 100 per cent tomato sauce and mozzarella and other products like prosciutto di parma, and Gorgonzola. But its plans were scatted by the pandemic when local pizzerias took over by delivering in-person during the shutdown, CNBC reported.

It arrived in 2015 when it already had some 12,000 stores across the world.

Last year, it cited a significant increase in competition levels as the reason for its poor performance and earnings. 

Following its exit, netizens on Twitter cheered, while making fun of it for even attempting to establish a foothold in the “homeland of pizza.”

A user said, “This is great news. Why would a Country that makes the best pizzas on earth ever need a Domino’s pizza chain? No one in their right mind that lives in or visits Italy would order a Domino’s when every neighbourhood has a superior pizzeria.”

Another user said, “Kind of like trying to open an ‘authentic’ Thai restaurant on a street in Bangkok lined with street vendors selling the real thing.”

Similarly, one user said, “With all the amazing pizzerias that we have in Italy, do you really believe that #Dominos would have been successful.”

While applauding the decision, one user asked the franchise to leave the United Kingdom. The user said, “Absolutely right. Disgraceful prices for disgraceful food, in the country of the pizza FFS 🇮🇹 right, can we get rid of @Dominos_UK them now?”

Agreeing with the suggestion a user said he’ll be glad if this happens in the UK.