Pizza business clearly suits Luton franchisee as he wears wacky outfit to celebrate opening of Domino’s 1,100th store

The entrepreneur, who owns Domino’s first UK store in Luton’s New Bedford Road, reached 20 years as a franchisee this week.

Arshad marked the anniversary by opening his new store in Birmingham’s Star City – with his unique attire attracting plenty of attention!

The 49-year-old entrepreneur now owns 23 stores across the UK and employs 900 people, including several family members.

Arshad’s brother Mujahid is a partner, his son Janaid is a store manager in Wigmore Lane, and nephew Ehsaan is a team member.

Arshad first worked for Domino’s in Luton to cover a shift for another brother, Khalid.

He was subsequently offered a job as a delivery driver and within two years worked his way up to become a successful store manager. He opened his first store as franchisee of AKM Pizza Limited on March 15, 1999.

Arshad may have 23 outlets to date, but he is hungry for more with plans to open additional stores this year.

His company, AKM Pizza Limited sold more than two million pizzas last year.

In the 20 years Arshad has worked for Domino’s the business has changed significantly; total revenue has increased by £1,196m, online orders now dominate sales and their store estate has grown from 213 stores to a whopping 1,100.

Domino’s reported a 9 per cent jump in revenue to £1,259.5m last year, helped by new store openings and food innovations such as the best-selling Cheeseburger pizza.

Overall, the company sold a record 101,830,468 pizzas throughout 2018 – more than six every second stores were open – with the busiest week in Domino’s 33-year history in the run-up to Christmas.

Arshad said: “Opening the 1,100th store in the UK is a great honour, and it feels extra special that it’s almost 20 years to the day since I opened my first unit in March 1999.

“I have been fortunate to have a close family on the journey with me, and I’m proud we’ve been able to serve local communities from Birmingham to home in Luton for so long. I’m as excited by our 23rd opening as I was for my first, and I look forward to delivering delicious pizza to more people for years to come.”

Scott Bush, Domino’s Operations Director, said: “In the UK, we are fortunate to work with some of the best and most successful Domino’s franchisees in the world. Loyal, long-standing franchisees such as Arshad are the lifeblood of the business.

“They get up every day inspired to work hard to sell more pizza. They also demonstrate how it’s possible to be your own boss and build a successful business around the UK’s favourite pizza brand.”