Fréttablaðið reports that Domino’s is losing money, and that the company’s Icelandic operations will be sold for a fraction of the price they were bought for by Domino’s Pizza Group. A British company bought the Domino’s Icelandic operations in two parts for ISK 8.4 billion between 2016 and 2017. Fréttablaðið’s sources predict that the company will now sell for between 2-3 billion ISK, around half the amount of the overall loss Domino’s Pizza Group company might face from this sale.
Domino’s in Iceland was founded by Birgir Þór Bieltvedt in 1993. The company was sold to Landsbankinn in 2005 when it was valued at ISK 1.1 billion. Six years later, Birgir bought back the company for ISK 560 million. It was later sold to Domino’s Pizza Group, and now Domino’s Icelandic operations are back on the market again. Birgir Þór Bieltvedt is the leader of one of the groups that is now interested in purchasing Domino’s Icelandic operations. He recently confirmed that they have submitted an offer, so he may gain ownership of the company for the third time.
The fact that Domino’s has been performing below the companies expectations in recent times may be explained by increased competition which has driven down product prices and led to higher labour costs. In 2019, the Grapevine reported that Domino’s Pizza Group would be selling their operations in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and other overseas territories (though Birgir Örn Birgisson, the head of Domino’s Pizza Group in Iceland, assured customers that the pizza chain would not be shutting down).
Birgir Þór Bieltvedt is an experienced restaurant owner, and also oversees operations of Glóar, Joe & The Juice, Jómfrúarinn, Snaps, and Cafe Paris, as well as the bakery Brauð. This, in addition to the fact that he has a wealth of previous experience in running Domino’s Pizza operations in Iceland, is sure to mean that the pizza chain will be in good hands if his offer is accepted by Domino’s Pizza Group.
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