Poland's hunger for pizza sees DP sales surge

(ShareCast News) - Exclusive master franchise holder for Domino's Pizza in Poland, DP Poland, updated the market on its store performance on Wednesday.The AIM-traded company said there were currently 39 Domino's Pizza stores in 14 Polish towns and cities - 16 of them corporately managed, and 23 sub-franchisedIt said like-for-like system sales were up 27% in the 2016 calendar year, compared to 2015, and it confirmed it now had 17 consecutive quarters of double digit like-for-like system sales growth.Total system sales were up 62% in 2016, as 12 new stores opened and 6 more towns came on stream during the year.DP Poland confirmed four new stores had since opened in four more towns in the period since 1 January.It had an undisclosed pipeline of store openings planned for 2017, with "a number" currently under construction.The company took on six new sub-franchisees in 2016, who now operate 23 stores between them.Nine stores were opened by sub-franchisees between 1 January 2016 and 8 February 2017.It was also making serious progress in the online space, with 71% of delivery sales now made online.The company's second commissary was scheduled to open mid-year to support the rapid growth in system sales, the board reported."In 2016 12 new Domino's Pizza stores were opened and we welcomed six new sub-franchisees on board," said chief executive Peter Shaw."In the first five weeks of 2017 we opened four further stores."This step change in store roll-out and system sales growth is set to continue through 2017 as we invest in real estate development, store operations, dough production capacity and food warehousing."