Yahoo Finance Why Domino's Pizza is going on a major hiring spree
With sales bubbling during the pandemic like a steaming hot extra large pizza, Domino’s is poised to go on a major hiring spree to support further gains in its business.
Domino’s (DPZ) said this week it will hire 20,000 people, joining the likes of rival Papa John’s (PZZA) in aggressively filling thousands of newly open positions. The hirings will be broad-based for Domino’s, underscoring the spike in demand amidst the pandemic and what that means to on-demand food delivery operators.
The company plans to hire delivery experts, pizza makers, customer service representatives, managers, assistant managers and warehouse employees.
“With so many consumers shifting more toward digital and delivery, it has led to some increased demand across our business. That gives us a great opportunity to go out there and offer jobs and pathways to careers for so many folks who perhaps may have lost the job they had previously,” Domino’s Pizza CEO Richard Allison told Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.
“Some” increased demand for Domino’s may be an understatement.
Domino’s second quarter U.S. same-store sales surged 16.1% from a year ago. With restaurant dining rooms closed because of the pandemic and stimulus checks in hand, consumers continued to opt for easy-to-use (and safe) food delivery options such as Domino’s.
International same-store sales rose 1.3%. Earnings per share gained 36.5%.
Shares of Domino’s are up 42% year-to-date, outperforming McDonald’s (up 6%) and Yum! Brands (down 5%). Papa John’s stock is up 59% on the year.
When not signing off on a new hiring push, Allison is the final taste tester for Domino’s products. He acknowledges the company’s wings haven’t been up to snuff. So, the company reworked them and is now in the market with new wings to support consumer preferences to mix and match in their orders.
Says Allison, “During the pandemic, chicken wings have been a rapidly growing product category particularly around delivery. It’s a product that delivers very well. It holds heat well and shows up in a very good state to the consumer. And we took a look at our wings — and much like we did with our pizza years ago — we looked at them and said you know, they’re fine, but they’re not great. We need to make them better. So we invested a lot of time and energy internally and with our supplier partners and developed a new wing and developed new sauces to go along with it, which we’re excited about.”
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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