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For 32 years, Tom Monaghan insisted that his Domino's Pizza Inc. deliver only pizza and pop to ensure 30-minute delivery.
But in today's heated pizza wars, the founder of the private Ann Arbor-based franchiser seems to be shaking the very pillars upon which he built Domino's into the biggest pizza-delivery company in the nation and the second-largest pizza company.
Monaghan is expanding Domino's menu with salads, submarines, and bread sticks after many years of refusing franchisees' pleas to add non-pizza items to the menu. He also started carryout only of Domino's version of a big. value-oriented pizza. the new Dominator--a departure from decades of free, delivery-only service.
What gives?
"Domino's has dramatically changed its whole marketing thrust," said pizza industry consultant John Correll, who heads a Canton Township firm bearing his name. "The principles the company was built on have been replaced with a new marketing direction."
Upheaval seems to be afoot for the four main tenets of Domino's corporate culture, Correll said:
* 30-minute delivery.
* The "pizza and only pizza" menu.
* No carryout discounts; free delivery only.
* No seating in the stores.
Domino's is no longer advertising or emphasizing its 30-minute delivery guarantee and could be leaning to abandoning it as a main marketing flag, Correll said. Published reports have said Domino's is considering installing tables and chairs in its shops, he said.
"Maybe it's time to make changes," he said. "The jury is still out on whether it's the right move or not.'
But the company says the 30-minute guarantee is here to stay.
When plans were made last year to expand the menu, Monaghan was "very, very strict that we maintain the quality and the 30-minute guarantee," said Larry Sheehan, vice president of marketing and product development.
Domino's isn't emphasizing its delivery guarantee because it wants to get the word out on its new products, he said. There's not enough time in a 30-second spot to do both, and Domino's 30-minute guarantee is well-known. Domino's eventually will resume ads with its delivery promise, Sheehan said.
TREND DROVE MENU CHANGE
Domino's menu expansion reflects a trend in the fast-food industry, he said, although it may be doing it a little later than others. "By expanding the menu, we are...