Disruption doesn't always come from a startup; sometimes, it comes from the very industry you pioneered. Just ask Domino's, whose stock recently plummeted after the delivery boom it helped create turned into its biggest competitor. To stop the bleeding, the company has called its 83-year-old billionaire founder back to the helm. His counterintuitive plan is a masterclass in strategy for anyone feeling the squeeze of a crowded market.
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The $4.6B Problem
Jack Cowin is 83 years old, worth A$4.67B, and owns two superyachts. By all logic, he should be enjoying espresso and Sudoku at sea.
Instead, he’s back in the trenches as interim Executive Chairman of Domino’s Pizza Enterprises—the Australian-listed franchisee that runs 3,800 Domino’s stores across 12 countries.
Why? Because Domino’s stock has collapsed 90% since 2021. Margins have shriveled to 0.5%. The CEO bailed after eight months. Hundreds of stores are closing.
Translation: the house that hot, fast pizza built is burning down.
Meet the Godfather of Fast Food
Before we get to the pizza panic, know this: Cowin is no ordinary chairman.
In the ’60s, he spotted long lines at a Sydney Chinese takeaway and thought: fast food = goldmine.
He scraped together ~$300k from “30 brave Canadians” to open KFC stores.
When Burger King blocked him from using its name in Australia, he just rebranded to Hungry Jack’s and built a 360-store empire.
When Burger King tried to kill his franchise, he sued them—and won.
This guy’s career is a highlight reel of corporate judo. The irony? He used to be the scrappy underdog. Now he’s the entrenched establishment.
Domino’s Blockbuster Moment
Domino’s was never just a pizza company. It was a logistics machine.
Own the kitchen → own the app → own the drivers. Boom. Vertical integration.
That was the moat.
Then the platforms invaded: Uber Eats, DoorDash, Deliveroo.
No stores.
No kitchens.
Just an app + a swarm of gig drivers.
Suddenly, Domino’s “moat” looked a lot like Blockbuster’s 9,000 stores when Netflix showed up.
📉 The carnage since Sept 2021:
Share price: A$165 → A$16 (–90%)
Market cap: A$15B → A$1.8B (–88%)
Franchisee profits: –31%
And here’s the kicker: when a pizza shows up late via DoorDash, customers don’t blame DoorDash. They blame Domino’s.
Franchisees: The Squeezed Middle
On paper, buying a Domino’s franchise looks like a golden ticket.
Expected ROI: 10–20% of gross sales
Net income: $130k–$260k/year
Reality check:
Actual margins: 2–3%
Workload: 60–80 hours/week
Take-home pay: closer to $135k
And now, the app tax:
Uber Eats commission: ~30%
Domino’s royalty: ~7%
That’s 37% of the pie gone before rent, labor, or cheese even enter the picture.
The result? Franchisees lose money, Domino’s books a royalty, and Uber Eats gets paid.
The Counterattack
Cowin’s comeback playbook is old-school simple: cut costs + drive sales.
The $9.99 Gambit
Any pizza, any toppings, $9.99—but only if you order through the Domino’s app. Translation: Domino’s is literally paying customers in discounts to take their data back from Uber.The Great Pizza Purge
Shut 205 underperforming stores (mostly Japan). Trim the bloated menu. Fewer SKUs = less waste, faster ops, happier franchisees.Reinvest in the Troops
Savings get funneled into cheaper supplies, juiced-up marketing, and franchisee support. Domino’s knows its operators are burnt out and broke.
Can the Old King Beat the New Barbarians?
Cowin’s mantra is simple: “Cost control + sales growth.” It made him a billionaire.
But this fight isn’t against another burger chain. It’s against algorithms, network effects, and Silicon Valley’s ability to own the customer relationship.
If Domino’s wins, it’ll be the playbook for how an old-world operator beats asset-light tech platforms at their own game.
If not? Well, Jack might finally get around to using those yachts.
The Big Takeaway
Moats don’t last forever. Sometimes the thing that protects you—your drivers, your stores, your model—becomes the very thing that drowns you.
Blockbuster had its stores. Domino’s had its fleet.
In a world run by platforms, yesterday’s moat is tomorrow’s millstone.
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