Abstract

The case discusses the American multinational pizza giant Domino’s Pizza, Inc.’s (Domino’s) strategy during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Domino’s resorted to a ‘çontactless’ delivery initiative, which it launched in January 2020 in the wake of the novel Covid-19 outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, and soon spread to countries across the world. With increasing awareness about the virus, consumers were taking precautions to prevent transmission of the disease and were remaining indoors. Many restaurants were closed and the governments of all countries allowed only takeout and delivery. Since Domino’s had a strong delivery infrastructure and digital customer base who knew how to order online, it was well-positioned to tackle the crisis. Some analysts appreciated Domino’s for its contactless delivery model as it was helping the pizza giant to thrive during the Covid-19 crisis. To cater to the increasing demand from consumers, Domino’s was planning to hire 10,000 new workers in the US. However, it also attracted the ire of critics who felt that the company was putting its employees at risk of contracting the virus. There were also instances of some of its employees contracting Covid-19. With this being early days of the pandemic, some analysts opined that it could be a tough road ahead for Domino’s as the company had to grapple with the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the core competencies of Domino’s helped it during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Understand the issues and challenges faced by Domino’s with regard to contactless delivery and explore strategies Domino’s can use to tackle the challenges.
• Employ strategies to balance its need for business continuity and serving customers with the need for protecting its employees and customers.
• Evaluate Domino’s business continuity plan.
• Explore the future strategy for Domino’s to come out of this public health crisis.

Keywords

Business continuity plan; Covid-19 pandemic; Core competency; Competitive advantage; Strategic capabilities; Reshaping strategy; Business model; Crisis Management; Crisis communication; Contactless delivery; Delivery infrastructure; Retail; Corporate social responsibility; Stakeholder management; Social distancing