Mr. Halpern: Domino's is a world-class brand. In the fast food industry, we sit among a number of world class brands and they are all American. You start off with McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Domino's is fifth in the pecking order. In the US Domino's has 96% brand recognition. At the end of 1993, when we first took over the Master Franchise for the UK and Irish markets, Domino's had about 35% brand recognition, today we have over 80%. The reasons for that are threefold: one is simply adding many more units, another is general awareness resulting from people travelling and seeing the Domino's brand around the world, and the third, and most significant, is our sponsorship of The Simpsons on Sky One. This has been a very successful association for us and since its launch, brand awareness jumped from 60% to the 81% we report today.
TWST: Can we get a feeling for the fast food market in the UK and
Europe?
Mr. Halpern: I think that the UK and Ireland are a friendlier beachhead
for bringing American brands into Europe. The cultures are similar and,
of course, we share the same language. It's easier for business people
from the US to relate to the British and Irish markets. That's not to
say that the environment isn't equally exciting across the rest of
Europe - there is great potential in many countries. In terms of the
market potential in the UK and Ireland, if you look at the per capita
expenditure on fast food in the US, it is still about three to four
times larger than it is in the UK. It's around $308.00 per cap and the
UK it's $70.00. So there's room to grow. If you look at our segment,
which is home delivery pizza, it's about a GBP370 million market.
Domino's now has a 21% market share in that, and we're growing fast. If
you went back to when Domino's first came here, we had maybe 7% or 8% of
that market. We are in a growing market and Domino's has been taking
market share in that growing market. By sales volume we're the largest
home delivery pizza company in the UK, and we plan to claim this
position in Ireland in the not too distant future.
Tickers included in this excerpt: DOM.L
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