Domino's expansion: Norfolk businesses react to new plans

With more than 1,300 outlets across the UK - 16 of which are in East Anglia - Domino’s is already the biggest takeaway pizza brand in the country. 

The US export is famous for its half price deals - often promoted via colourful fliers thrust through the letter boxes of nearby homes - and extensive TV advertising, which, over the past 20 or so years, have helped to grow the company’s revenue to more than £679m.

There's 16 Domino's stores in Norfolk and Suffolk (Image: Domino's)

Aside from its discount-driven sales strategy, the firm attributes its success to its franchise business model, which has allowed it to dilute the risk of rapid expansion and reach new, more rural markets.

Following the "massively successful" performance of its small town sites, chief executive Andrew Rennie said the firm is looking to open 70 more in rural locations. 

Domino’s expansion plans are similar to that of Pret A Manger, which has also been targeting towns and villages amid a rise in remote working, and Greggs, which has plans to open as many as 160 new shops.

A Domino's store opened in Diss last year (Image: Newsquest)

Although exact locations haven’t yet been announced, a planning application submitted last week outlined Domino’s plans to take over a former-hardware shop in Long Stratton.

And while the firm is keen to tout the benefits its stores bring to local communities - namely jobs and quality pizza - nearby businesses are less convinced.

‘THEY’VE TAKEN OVER’

For business owners like Vanessa Scott, director of the Strattons Hotel in Swaffham, Domino's arrival last year felt like a blow.

She said: “Chains like Domino’s undermine local businesses because you simply can’t compete with the prices or the convenience.

“They’ve taken over and it seems there’s nothing we can do to stop it - I’m very fed up.”

Big multinational chains like Domino’s often have the scale to undercut local competitors, both in terms of prices and opening hours. 

And while this has the potential to increase footfall in the area, Mrs Scott said the benefits to the local economy are “virtually zero”. 

Strattons Hotel owner Vanessa Scott. Picture: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

She said: “They might employ local people but that's where it ends in terms of being responsible and enhancing the community.

“When we make a pizza we put effort into sourcing our ingredients locally, which in turn helps other businesses and grows a healthy local economy.

“Our flour would come from Heygates down the road, the produce would be from Starlings, and we’d get the yeast from a local supplier. But because Domino’s is a franchise they buy everything in from a central place.

“On the one hand you can understand it, because they want a pizza in Norfolk to taste the same as it does in Glasgow.

“But the fact is that they’re not putting anything back into the rural economy and that’s to our detriment.

“They're not trying to live alongside the community, they're trying to get the lion's share of the business and don’t care about the knock-on effects.”

‘I AM AN INDEPENDENT’

Not everybody agrees with Mrs Scott’s take.

Kevin Foley is a second generation McDonald's franchise owner, with more than 14 restaurants across East Anglia. 

He said despite operating under the most recognisable fast food brand in the world, he still feels like an independent business owner.

Mr Foley’s McEmpire employs more than 1,600 people in East Anglia (Image: Newsquest)

“I guess the way I see it is that I am independent - it's my name on the branches and my business to run how I want to.

“The products are bought from a central point and the training material is from central, but what we deliver on a daily basis is all decided locally.

“The difference is that unlike a company with just one burger shop, I have the advantage of huge brand awareness and can ride on the coattails of that global advertising.”

Mr Foley’s McEmpire has doubled in size over the past few years.

He now employs more than 1,600 people, offering what he describes as flexible, reliable work with clear career progression opportunities.

Mr Foley’s McEmpire employs more than 1,600 people in East Anglia (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “When higher-level jobs come up  I don't try to hire from outside business, so there's a lot of room for progression which means a lot of local jobs.

“In places like Cromer where a lot of the work is seasonal we can also offer year-round employment not readily available otherwise.

“As a franchisee I actually understand the communities I’m working in, in a way that the central company couldn’t. 

“We get heavily involved with local causes, like supporting Wymondham Rugby Club, and having that big McDonalds name behind us helps us to do even more good.”