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Domino's Atoned for Its Crimes Against Pizza and Built a $9 Billion Empire
Article

Domino's Atoned for Its Crimes Against Pizza and Built a $9 Billion Empire


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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable
  • Engaging

Recommendation

How does a restaurant chain survive lawsuits, a viral video so disgusting that the health department gets involved, declining sales and customers who think your main product is awful? The pizza chain Domino’s figured it out. After revamping its pizza recipes, the company launched a clever advertising campaign, revolving around an apologetic admission that it needed to do better. Bloomberg Businessweek writer Susan Berfield traces how Domino’s revived its damaged brand reputation using technology and a well-executed mea culpa. getAbstract recommends the article to executives of companies with a suffering brand and to pizza lovers everywhere.

Summary

In 2006 – two years after its IPO – the pizza restaurant chain Domino’s was in trouble: Sales dropped; two lawsuits led to high costs in damages; and then, a video that showed two Domino’s kitchen employees messing with the food went viral, repulsed customers and led the health department to close the restaurant temporarily. On top of all this, customers complained about the pizza. People didn’t like it, and the company’s executives agreed: It wasn’t good pizza.

So Domino’s went back into the kitchen. It improved the quality of the ingredients and the recipe for the crust...

About the Author

Susan Berfield is a writer for Bloomberg Businessweekk