The Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price is suffering today despite the company reaching an "important" milestone in Japan.
The company is now the only pizza chain to have a national footprint in Japan. It now has stores in all 47 of the country's districts.
At the time of writing the Domino's share price is $123.33, which is 1.07% lower than its previous close.
Let's take a closer look at today's news from the pizza chain.
Domino's share price slides on Thursday
Domino's achieved this milestone by opening its 862nd Japanese store – the first one in the Shimane district.
Domino's also announced it is on track with its goal to have 2,000 stores in the island country by 2033.
Domino's CEO and managing director, Don Meij, says the company has changed its approach in the Japanese market.
Meij commented:
Less than three years ago we operated 550 stores and were not present in more than 10 prefectures. We highlighted that our business model at the time did not allow us to reach some of these territories – that has now changed.
Asia-Pacific CEO, Josh Kilimnik, also commented on the company's achievement, saying it is an "important milestone" and "another step on our way to building out the opportunity we have in Japan".
Kilimnik says:
We know from looking across the retail and quick service restaurant market that most brands don't get true national recognition until they have more than 1,000 stores, and we are well on our way…
What's most important is what it means for our customers – we can now serve more people a hot, freshly prepared meal, safely, delivered fast, because we are closer to their homes.
The Domino's share price is 40% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained 5% over the past 30 days.
