Domino’s Pizza to open 70 new stores… in India

Domino’s is famous across the U.S., especially in its hometown of Ann Arbor. But the Tree town-based pizza chain is rapidly becoming popular in India, where it is opening 70 new stores.Excerpt:Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. rose to a record after the Indian franchisee of Domino’s Pizza Inc. said it plans to add 70 stores in the year ending March to tap demand for pizzas and western food in the South Asian country.Jubilant, which operates 320 Domino’s Pizza stores in India, will also spend as much as 60 million rupees ($1.3 million) to set up three outlets in neighboring Sri Lanka, Ajay Kaul, Jubilant’s chief executive officer, told reporters in New Delhi today. The company is considering alliances with other global food brands, though it hasn’t signed any deal, he said.Shares climbed 14 percent, the most since April 7, to 420 rupees in Mumbai, the highest closing level since their debut in February. The stock gained as much as 15 percent earlier on the Bombay Stock Exchange.Domino’s, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is expanding in the world’s second-most populous nation as overseas sales outpaced demand at home. India will be among the five biggest markets for the second-largest U.S. pizza maker in the next three years as rising incomes and taste for foreign food boost local sales 42 percent annually, Chief Executive Officer J. Patrick Doyle, said in March. Read the rest of the story here.