Ammar Jali has come a long way since beginning his career as a delivery driver in 1991. The local business owner purchased his first Domino’s Pizza store in 1994 – just three years after joining the company as a driver. Today, Jali owns 25 Domino’s Pizza stores located in Pennsylvania and New York and was recently awarded the esteemed International Franchise Association Gold Franny Award for operational excellence. The award was celebrated at a recent Domino’s Pizza awards ceremony held in London.
Jali graduated with an electrical engineering degree with a concentration in fiber optics from the New York Institute of Technology, but always had the dream of owning a Domino’s Pizza in the back of his mind. When he joined Domino’s, he knew one day his dream would come true. Today, he continues to grow his business and connect with the Pittsburgh and New York communities in which his businesses are located.
“Domino’s has delivered, to me and my family, the dream of now owning and operating my own business,” said Jali. “Domino’s truly provides a fantastic opportunity to those who show initiative and a desire to advance.”
The Gold Franny Award is the most prestigious honor bestowed on a Domino’s Pizza franchise owner. Jali earned this award as part of an elite group within nearly 1,100 franchise owners in the United States. The awards are based on several key factors including operational audit scores, community involvement, store safety & security and team member morale.
The Gold Franny Awards were created more than 20 years ago by the International Franchise Association and designed to honor excellence among franchise owners.
“Ammar’s personal commitment, leadership and determination to grow his franchise made him tremendously successful in 2012,” said Scott Hinshaw, Domino’s executive vice president of franchise operations and development. “The idea of beginning as a driver and working your way toward fulfilling the dream of becoming an award-winning franchise owner is what Domino’s is all about. In fact, 90% of Domino’s franchise owners in the U.S. started as drivers or pizza makers.”
Founded in 1960, Domino’s Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, with a significant business in carryout pizza. It ranks among the world’s top public restaurant brands with its global enterprise of more than 10,400 stores in over 70 international markets. Domino’s had global retail sales of over $7.4 billion in 2012, comprised of over $3.5 billion in the U.S. and nearly $3.9 billion internationally. In the second quarter of 2013, Domino’s had global retail sales of over $1.8 billion, comprised of $868 million in the U.S. and $961 million internationally. Its system is largely made up of franchise owner-operators who accounted for over 96% of the Domino’s Pizza stores as of the second quarter of 2013. The Domino’s brand generates over $2 billion in global digital sales per year. Its emphasis on new technology has helped drive the introduction of Domino’s ordering apps for Kindle Fire, Android, iPhone and Windows Phone 8 – which now cover nearly 95% of the U.S. smartphone market. Continuing its focus on menu enhancement, Domino’s established itself as a player in the pan pizza market with the launch of its Handmade Pan Pizza, featuring fresh, never-frozen dough, in October 2012.
