Long before Domino's came to be synonymous with pizzas in India, Pizza Hut was most people's go-to to satisfy their pizza cravings. Indeed, it was probably among the top quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains in the country in the 90s. Pizza Hut's popularity has waned considerably in the decades since. Its focus on a premium dine-in experience in sharp contrast to the no-frills approach of Domino's - was eclipsed by the convenience and speed offered by its delivery-focused rival. Not only did Pizza Hut stop resonating with customers, its approach was also hard to scale. The large dine-in outlets were expensive to set up and run. Domino's, meanwhile, opened up hundreds of smaller outlets, outfitted with little more than kitchens, tables, and chairs to take pizza to practically every nook and cranny of the country. Despite both brands entering the country in 1996, Domino’s store count is 2.5X that of Pizza Hut. And by revenue, Domino’s is 5X bigger. At a glance, it looks like Pizza Hut in India is fighting a losing battle—at least if its goal is to once again reclaim its past glory. However, as we wrote in today's article, Pizza Hut-more specifically, its franchisee Devyani International - is attempting to script an unlikely turnaround… and a lot of it is based on the playbook that worked for Domino's. An aggressive expansion spree centered around smaller outlets, deprioritising dine-in, and even launching its own app to wrest control back from food aggregators.
