A domino is a small rectangular block marked with two groups of spots, or “pips,” on one side. The pieces are used in a number of different games. The most basic Western games involve a line of dominoes with the same value on both ends, with each player in turn trying to find and place down a piece whose exposed dots match those of a piece at either end of an already-formed line. The game is won by the first player to complete his or her dominoes. There are countless variations on this theme, and there are many books describing them.
In 2009, Domino’s launched a bold new marketing campaign under its then-president of USA operations, J. Patrick Doyle. Its underlying message was an unflinchingly self-aware approach, where the company acknowledged its mistakes and looked to right them. This was a rare display of such unabashed honesty from a corporation, and it resonated with many.
Domino’s is also experimenting with various other initiatives to grow its business. The company has built a custom-built pizza delivery vehicle, for example, and it is working on robotic and drone delivery. These are not merely attempts to keep up with the competition, though. They are all part of an effort to modernize Domino’s image, to make the company seem hip and cool to a younger generation that has grown up using third-party food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Despite its best efforts to keep up with the competition, Domino’s is still a company that’s plagued by inefficiencies in its supply chain and in its management systems. The company has not yet been able to overcome these problems, and they may prove difficult to fix. The company’s current stock price is near its all-time low, and it has an awful lot of work to do if it hopes to compete effectively in the food delivery market.
While the company’s long-term prospects remain promising, it is facing a very real short-term threat from third-party delivery services, especially DoorDash. These companies are growing quickly and stealing market share from Domino’s, making it harder for the pizza chain to acquire new customers. While I believe that these companies will ultimately fail because of their broken business models, they are a serious problem in the short term.
When Lily Hevesh was 9 years old, she began playing with her grandparents’ classic 28-piece domino set. She loved setting up the pieces in a straight or curved line and then flicking the first domino to watch them all fall. Now, she’s a professional domino artist who creates incredible setups for movies, TV shows, and events—and she helped to set a Guinness World Record for the most dominoes in a circular arrangement. She has also created a popular YouTube channel where she shares her creative projects. Her most elaborate installations can take several nail-biting minutes to fall, as each domino must follow the laws of physics in its own unique way.
