Domino’s Pizza closes all of its stores in Italy after its franchise holder ePizza SpA files for bankruptcy. The American restaurant chain says that it was severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions in the country.
The COVID-19 recession is a global economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The recession began in most countries in February 2020. The pandemic was also a factor in the 2021–2022 global energy crisis and 2022 food crises.
Domino’s Pizza’s last stores in Italy have been closed after the firm that operated its outlets in the country filed for bankruptcy, reports say. Franchise holder ePizza SpA was hit by the pandemic. Domino’s had struggled to win over customers in the birthplace of pizza since launching there in 2015. News of the fast food giant’s exit from the country was celebrated by some social media users. ‘Italian pizza is better for sure’ – Italians respond to Domino’s pulling out of country.
EPizza SpA first filed for bankruptcy in early April after it was impacted by coronavirus restrictions. The company also said it faced increasing competition as traditional restaurants started using delivery apps. As part of the bankruptcy process the firm was granted protection from its creditors for 90 days. However, that protection came to an end last month. The Italian firm had already been scaling back the business from its peak in 2020, while deliveries stopped from the end of July. As of 2020, the company directly managed 23 outlets in Italy and another six stores were run through sub-franchising, according to the bankruptcy documents.