Why Domino's Is Mass Hiring While Pizza Hut Isn't

Is Domino's eating Pizza Hut's lunch?

It's like the pizza wars of the 90's, but a lot less fun due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Around the same time that Domino's announced plans to hire another 20,000 employees, Pizza Hut announced it will be closing up to 300 locations. What's the big difference here?

As odd as it may seem in this day and age, Pizza Hut still has a reputation of being a dine-in restaurant (who remembers the salad bar? Because I sure do). And even if the consumer has moved away from dining-in for quick pizza meals, Pizza Hut has been slow to adapt to the changing sentiment.

On the other hand, Domino's has been embracing its identity of delivery pizza for years now, carving out a strong leadership position in the digital food delivery space. Even back in 2017, Domino's said that 90% of its orders are made online or through its app.

So it's no wonder that during the pandemic, Domino's is poised to dominate the delivery pizza market. And with tens of thousands of new jobs to fill, it's a good thing Domino's has a secret sauce to their hiring process to find new employees in record time.

Restaurants need to prepare for colder weather

Might be a tough subject to consider when states are hitting record highs as of late (Death Valley just recorded the hottest temperature since 1913, so that's terrifying), but colder weather will be here in just a few months. And with restaurants having reorganized themselves for outdoor service, managers will have to consider what they will do and right now is the time to prepare.

At this point, hoping for indoor dining by the winter is becoming untenable with the virus still spiking in metros all across the country. At best, we could see a 50% capacity indoors in more cities, but other considerations should still be made.

First, we expect a run on outdoor heaters so managers should try to procure some now. Again, now is the time to invest in them if possible since many cities require approval from the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department. Next, tarp roofs and walls may be allowed but many cities won't allow fixed roofs for expanded outdoor seating. After all, the entire point of the outdoor seating is to let fresh air mitigate the spread of the virus. Even cool plastic domes aren't safe.

But for many locations, delivery and take out may be the only option in the winter. Check out how Wingstop is thriving with digital delivery for inspiration.

Who's hiring during the pandemic?

Almost every industry has been hit hard by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the operative word here is "almost." If we had a time machine (or just were smarter), we'd invest our dollars into the businesses that have seen major hiring growth during this strange time in American and world history. With a new normal to the way people live their daily lives, we're seeing interesting spikes in hiring in certain sectors.

Home Improvement

When stuck at home for more time than anyone would expect, you start to notice things to fix or upgrade around the house. One thing during this scorching hot summer? Swimming pools. Which is why it makes sense that companies that install pools can't keep up with demand and has been trying to hire more workers ASAP.

People seem to be finding time to finally fix that door hinge or redo that patio during quarantine as Home Depot is seeing a need for more employees as well. Sure enough, local contractors are seeing a ton of work and are looking to shore up their numbers as well. Of course, skilled trade jobs like these are much harder to fill (trade schools are the future, kids) but this all means that the home improvement sector will continue to need more employees overall during the rest of this "house arrest" that people are on.

Anything with wheels

Ok, so once they can't take being home any longer (after all, your neighbors are home too, always), Americans are getting out by driving, which is the safest form of social distanced traveling you can do at the moment (sorry environment). This leads to a slew of cars that need to be fixed and serviced, which is why companies like Autozone are seeing a need for more hands as well. About 20,000 more job openings, actually.

We expect the automotive industry to continue to hire strong. Mind you, not sales of new cars. As the economy slumps, more Americans will be looking to fix up their current wheels and get them serviced. Well, unless they're buying RV's since the sale of these homes-on-wheels are booming at the moment as more people want to travel with all their stuff. Expect anything to do with RVs (servicing, RV parks, etc) to see increased hiring.

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