Short squeeze
New Domino's CEO Mark van Dyck impressed investors — and punished short sellers — with his plan to slice more than 200 stores from its global empire.
It's rare to see shares of a multi-billion dollar ASX 200 company rise by more than 20% in a single trading session. But pizza delivery chain Domino's, which once tried to position itself as a tech company and has always been one of the most contested names in the local market, has never been a normal stock.
New CEO Mark van Dyck has kicked off his tenure with a bang, today announcing the closure of 205 loss-making stores and triggering an enormous squeeze on short sellers.
Having long struggled to get its overseas franchises firing, van Dyck made good on his promise late last year to consolidate the ASX-listed pizza chain’s ailing footprint overseas and shutter loss-making operations.
It marks a major break with his predecessor Don Meij who had been in growth mode for years, spreading the Domino’s brand across Japan and parts of Europe — with mixed results.
