he home delivery business may be packed with competitors on nearly every street corner, but Rakshit Hargave, chief of marketing, Domino�s India, says pizza is a good product to sell these days to over-scheduled families. "Our emphasis has always been on delivering what the customer wants, be it at their homes or at our dining space," he adds.

Domino�s strategy of late is to cut through the competition by crafting a hipper image. For one, the 45-year-old Ann Arbor, Michigan-headquartered pizza chain is in the process of short-listing a younger celebrity to endorse the brand in India (it has used older character artistes Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher in its earlier advertising). For another, the company - which had more than $4.6 billion in global retail sales in 2004, including corporate and franchise outlets - has an eye on expansion by adding new stores in untapped markets. The chain has about 98 stores across the country and plans to open at least 20 more by the end of this year.... more