BRUSSELS - The American chain Domino's Pizza closes the doors of its Italian stores after seven years and leaves with its tail between its legs.
This is what the Financial Times reports.
The fast food brand's Italian franchise partner,
ePizza SpA, which operated 29 branches across the country, struggled to win over "discerning customers in the home of pizza" and finally filed for bankruptcy earlier this year
.
As part of an insolvency proceeding, he was granted 90-day judicial protection from his creditors, which prevented them from seeking reimbursements or seizing company assets, which expired last month.
The official statements read that "the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent prolonged restrictions have seriously damaged ePizza",
but the president and largest shareholder Marcello Bottoli refused to comment when contacted by the FT
.
According to the newspaper, the news of Domino's closure in Italy is another indication of the mixed fortunes of US restaurant brands hoping to succeed among Italian consumers.
Another example is Starbucks, initially greeted with skepticism, but which is now in the process of opening two new branches in Florence and Rome after the success in Milan.
