Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Domino’s reaches a new five-year framework with its franchise partners: Domino’s Pizza Group has announced that it has reached a new five-year framework with its franchise partners to capitalise on its “significant long-term growth opportunity”. The company said the framework underpins “our confidence in our targets of in excess of 1,600 stores delivering £2.0bn of systems sales by 2028 and 2,000 stores delivering £2.5bn of system sales by 2033 driving profit growth across the system”. The business said that new framework will see the transition of the existing and “very successful” Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to a new Profitability and Growth Framework (PGF). The PGF will commence on 3 January 2025 following the conclusion of the existing MoU on 2 January 2025. The company said: “Domino’s and its franchise partners have made significant strategic progress together since 2021 under the MoU, collectively benefiting from an aligned system. New store openings have accelerated, national value campaigns have delivered increased orders, and we have brought more innovation to customers. In addition, app customers have doubled, our service times have significantly improved and GPS technology was rolled out. We also successfully launched and scaled nationally on Just Eat and Uber Eats. The PGF will embed the new ways of working that have enabled the relationship to go from strength to strength and ensures continuation of our mutual achievements of the last three years. The PGF aligns Domino’s and franchisees through shared investment in marketing, technology and creates a framework of incentives to drive meaningful new store openings. Although the PGF has an initial term of five years, it is intended to last beyond this period with arrangements reviewed periodically and adjusted by mutual consent. This will provide more agility for the parties to adapt to, and capitalise on, changing market conditions.” The company said it continues to trade in line with expectations. In the first nine weeks of Q4, total orders are up 5.3% (Q3 24: +3.5%) and like-for-like sales are up 2.7% (Q3 24: +0.7%). It said: “As with other major employers in the UK, the recent UK budget has significantly increased the cost of labour for both Domino’s and our franchise partners, who are particularly impacted. Although we have identified specific mitigation plans, we now believe that the annual impact for Domino’s will be circa £3m per annum from FY25 onwards.” Andrew Rennie, Domino’s chief executive, said: “I’m delighted to have reached a longer-term framework with our world-class franchise partners. This new framework is a vital step in driving the future growth of both Domino’s and our franchise partners. We’ve shown since 2021 that when we are aligned with our franchisees, we can achieve so much together, and this framework will take our partnership to the next level. The framework is good news for all our stakeholders. Having a five-year framework in place provides a strong platform for the long-term, sustainable growth of the brand, and will help us build a larger and more cash-generative business which will deliver stronger returns. It also means we will be well placed to address the headwinds all consumer-facing businesses will inevitably face in 2025 and will ensure we are in a strong position to thrive in the years that follow. I’d like to thank all our franchise partners and the DFA for the constructive discussions over the past few months. We look forward to continuing to offer customers outstanding value and service, whilst bringing the Domino’s brand to even more areas of the UK.”

Premium Club members to receive two updated databases this week: Premium Club members will receive two updated databases this week. The latest Propel UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database will be sent to subscribers on Wednesday, 11 December, at 12pm. It will feature 50 new additions, plus updates to existing entries. It now has 330 entries and more than 178,000 words of copy. Among the new entries are Ivan Ramen, iLunch, Captain D’s, SoBe Burger, Chicken & Blues, 92 Degrees, Little Bao Boy, Smoky Boys, Jones the Grocer, Bageterie Boulevard, Sojubar, Smashville, Oakberry, Champagne + Fromage, The Halal Guys, Gooey, Galito’s and Papa Ji. The latest Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book will then be sent to subscribers on Friday, 13 December, at 12pm. It will feature 31 new companies, for a total number of 1,040, with 65 accounts updated. Of these, a total of 651 are in profit and 389 are making a loss. Premium Club members also receive access to four other databases: the New Openings Database, the Multi-Site Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

John Lewis owner brings Caffè Nero outlets into the mix: The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose is attempting to win back more shoppers by opening Caffè Nero coffee shops in its stores. The Times reports that the John Lewis Partnership opened the cafés last week in five Waitrose shops – in Billericay, Godalming, Keynsham, Locks Heath and Stroud – offering coffee from Nero Roasting Company alongside Waitrose’s food menu. A Caffè Nero outlet opened in the John Lewis in White City, west London, on Thursday. The in-shop café concept builds on a partnership with Nero Group, which launched in 2021 to offer free hot drinks to My Waitrose loyalty card holders. Waitrose had scrapped the free hot drink offer in 2018, but brought it back after a backlash. The free hot drinks machines are available in 320 Waitroses and since the start of the partnership almost 25 million hot drinks have been dispensed. Although some may question the need to offer sit-in coffees too, the John Lewis Partnership said the cafés were a natural extension of the partnership. The coffee will be served by baristas, it said, unlike the free coffee. Charlotte Di Cello, commercial director for Waitrose, said: “We know our customers love to have the option of enjoying a coffee, snack or meal after their shop.” Will Stratton-Morris, UK chief executive of Caffè Nero UK, described the collaboration as a “perfect pairing”.

Progress on ethnic diversity in boardrooms runs out of steam: Progress on increasing ethnic diversity in the boardrooms of Britain’s largest public companies has stalled, raising concerns about a “one and done” mentality in response to a government-led drive. The Times reports that despite a surge in efforts to improve minority representation on boards, of the 196 new directors appointed in the year to the end of April only seven, or 4%, were from a self-declared ethnic minority background, according to an annual analysis by Spencer Stuart headhunters of the biggest 150 UK-listed companies. That was a large drop on the 15% last year and means 12.5% of all directors (186 of 1,515) identify as having an ethnic minority background. A review of boardroom ethnic diversity headed by Sir John Parker, the veteran director, commissioned by the business department in 2015, led to a target for all FTSE 100 boards to have at least one director from an ethnic minority background by December 2021. The deadline for FTSE 250 boards to follow suit is this month. Only a few of the 50 FTSE 250 companies in Spencer Stuart’s sample were not meeting that requirement. Shami Iqbal, UK managing partner at Spencer Stuart, said the slowdown in progress was disappointing. He said: “Diversity means having talent around the boardroom table representing a wide range of views and backgrounds, seeing this as a strength and leveraging this talent to the company’s advantage. While the Parker review results show concerted action, boards must be careful not to adopt a ‘one and done’ mentality.” The research also found that boardrooms were getting older, with those aged over 50 now representing more than 90% of all non-executive directors amid a “flight to experience”. There has been “significant progress” to improve gender diversity, however, helped by the FTSE Women Leaders Review, an independent, business-led framework supported by the government, which is targeting female representation within the four senior board and leadership roles of chair, chief executive, chief financial officer and senior independent director. Spencer Stuart’s research found that 71% of boards reported having at least one woman in these four roles, up from 60% last year. However, the progress was “uneven”, with 43 boards still having men occupying all four roles, and in contrast to the 113 boards where men held both chair and chief executive roles, women held both roles on only three boards.

City workers in party spirit give pubs fresh hope: People are still hard-wired to celebrate down the local, Simon Dodd, chief executive of Young’s, has said, with his business reporting Christmas bookings up 30% on last year. Dodd told The Times he is sceptical that Brits are, en masse, abandoning the big festive do for more HR-approved celebrations. “We’re currently 30% up in Christmas bookings [on last year],” he says. “In London, it’s absolutely huge…And think about this year, the weather’s been awful. Rain in April, rain in May, rain in June, we didn’t win the Euros, the rugby team won one game against Japan, so people are thinking, you know what? I’m going to enjoy myself. I’ll worry about it in January.” It is in London that Young’s is recording the strongest growth; sales are 16% up across the group’s sites in the capital, compared with about 5% or 6% outside. That comes despite the warnings that London’s hospitality businesses were set for terminal decline thanks to the rise in working from home. Things have changed – that Thursday is now the big night out rather than a Friday is well known – but people, Dodd reckons, are still hard-wired to celebrate down the local. “I think things have just evolved,” he says. “If we were talking five years ago, we wouldn’t have had seven rosés on our wine list. And rosé wouldn’t have been bigger than red wine. But it is. And at Christmas, the magnums come out.” Does he feel as if the government is listening to the sector? “As much as anyone else,” Dodd smiles, in the knowledge that even the boss of a pub company with a pint in his hand needs to remain diplomatic at times. Dodd is looking forward to 2025 regardless. Workers coming back to the office four days a week – and soon, many think, five – will help, but shoppers and tourists have also begun to fill his tables. Friday is once again the second busiest day of the week for Young’s. Dodd is focused on ensuring his establishments remain “proper pubs”. “If you’re a well-invested pub, you have great teams, you’re evolving your offer all the time, your food’s fresh, British, as long as you keep doing that, consumers will come back.”