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Domino's bites back at NYC mayor's New Year's Eve brand shaming
January 3, 2020
The Big Apple is abuzz with the blasting its mayor, Bill de Blasio, gave pizza giant, Domino's over the price of its pies from its store near Times Square on New Year's Eve. The mayor began tweeting about the price of the pies after a New York Post story was published around the fact that the Domino's franchise at 40th Sreet and Seventh Avenue (near the famed New Year's Eve "ball drop") was selling ham and cheese pizzas for what the paper said was double a regular large $14.49 cheese pie's cost at $30 that day.
Though some interviewed who purchased the pies said the price was worth it, di Blasio thought otherwise and shared that with his thousands of Twitter followers.
"Jacking up your prices on people trying to celebrate the holidays? Classy, @dominos," he tweeted. "To the thousands who came to Times Square last night to ring in 2020, I'm sorry this corporate chain exploited you — stick it to them by patronizing one of our fantastic LOCAL pizzerias."
When contacted this morning about the remarks, Domino's Executive Vice President, Communication, Investor Relations & Legislative Affairs Tim McIntyre said that the mayor's remarks were, in part, an over-simplification of a more complex situation around Times Square on New Year's Eve.
"One thing to note: The store itself did not change its prices, for delivery or carryout," McIntyre said in response to a question from Pizza Marketplace. "This was a one-off, targeted at the folks who were landlocked within the barricades of Times Square, and who couldn’t get access to anything else.
"Ultimately, the three-topping pizza was about $6 more than that average cost. One could consider it a 'convenience fee' or 'surge pricing,' etc. It was a creative way to generate sales for a short time period. We don’t know exactly why he targeted us when there are much more important issues you would think he’d be focusing on."
More importantly to Domino's were statements the mayor made urging revelers to patronize local New York pizza brands, instead of the international chain. He said that was also a mis-characterization of what Domino's franchisees in the city are.
"We took exception to his statement about encouraging New Yorkers to buy from 'local' pizza shops: Every store in the city is owned by a local resident," McIntyre said. "Every employee is a local New York resident. Those stores provide jobs to thousands of his fellow citizens. With his comments, the mayor is suggesting that New Yorkers who own or work at a franchise are 'lesser than' those who don’t. Perhaps that suggests he doesn’t really care about all the people in his city?"
