I admit my fault, Your Honor: even though I am Italian, I have eaten Domino's pizza three times, in Milan and Turin. I longed to feel again the emotions of pizza eaten in America.
But no emotion.
Italians aren't as closed-minded as you think
You see, we Italians are among the most conservative people in the world when it comes to food, but a large segment of the market in big cities is perfectly open to different tastes and traditions. In Italy you find a sushi restaurant in every neighborhood, even in small towns. And in every big city there's some Indian, Mexican, or Chinese restaurant.
Yes, we eat Chinese spaghetti (noodles)!
So there was indeed a willing public to eat Domino's pizza.
The fatal mistake
The problem is that the Domino's pizza that came to Italy had nothing to do with American pizza. We like (but don't tell anyone!) American pizza because it's greasier, fatter, and full of ingredients compared to ours. But Domino's thought it wise not to bring this type of pizza to Italy. Its strategy was to copy our pizza. Badly.
Result: a disaster.
The marketing lesson
Ultimately, it was not a mistake per se to open Domino's pizzerias in Italy. There is a market in big cities that appreciates foreign culinary proposals, even similar to ours. The mistake was not bringing a real novelty and not providing us with real American pizza.
When you enter the enemy's market, don't copy the enemy. Bring something the enemy doesn't have. This is a basic marketing rule that apparently nobody taught Domino's.
