beyondbrics

Opinions of US foreign policy differ around the world, to put it mildly, but emerging market countries have not lost their love of American brands. Certainly not Poland, where the owners of the local master franchise for Domino’s Pizza, are today announcing plans to float later this month.

As David Blackwell reports on ft.com, The team bringing DP Poland to London’s Aim smaller companies’ market includes Richard Worthington and Peter Shaw, the pair who floated coffeeheaven international, the east European coffee chain, in 2001.

The Domino’s brand, founded in the US in 1960, leads the global market, serving from more than 9,000 outlets in 60 countries, including Mexico and India. Blackwell writes, DP Poland, which is expected to have a market capitalisation of £10m, is planning to raise £6m. It will use the proceeds to set up 27 Domino’s Pizza stores by 2012, opening the first in Warsaw.

Worthington and his team believe there is an opportunity for Domino’s to lead the market in Poland, which has a population two-thirds the size of the UK’s and a fragmented pizza home-delivery sector. DP Poland plans to offer the usual range of pizzas, but also a menu tailored to the local market, using traditional sausages and regional cheeses.

The fast food sector in Poland is estimated to be worth more than £6.5bn a year. The country has similar demographic trends to the UK, with working hours growing longer and dual income households boosting demand for quality convenience foods , writes Blackwell.