Item 1. Business.

Overview

Domino’s is the second largest pizza restaurant chain in the world, with more than 12,500 locations in over 80 markets around the world. Founded in 1960, our roots are in convenient pizza delivery, while a significant amount of our sales also come from carryout customers. Although we are a highly-recognized global brand, we focus on serving the local neighborhoods in which we live and do business through our large network of franchise owners and Company-owned stores. On average, we sell more than 1.5 million pizzas each day throughout our global system.

Our business model is straightforward: we handcraft and serve quality food at a competitive price, with easy ordering access and efficient service, enhanced by our technology innovations. Our dough is generally made fresh and distributed to stores around the world by us and our franchisees.

Domino’s generates revenues and earnings by charging royalties to its franchisees. Royalties are ongoing percent-of-sales fees for use of the Domino’s brand marks. The Company also generates revenues and earnings by selling food, equipment and supplies to franchisees primarily in the U.S. and Canada, and by operating a number of our own stores. Franchisees profit by selling pizza and other complementary items to their local customers. In our international markets, we generally grant geographical rights to the Domino’s Pizza® brand to master franchisees. These master franchisees are charged with developing their geographical area, and they may profit by sub-franchising and selling ingredients and equipment to those sub-franchisees, as well as by running pizza stores. Everyone in the system can benefit, including the end consumer, who can feed their family Domino’s menu items conveniently and economically.

Our business model can yield strong returns for our franchise owners and Company-owned stores. It can also yield significant cash flow to us, through a consistent franchise royalty payment and supply chain revenue stream, with moderate capital expenditures. We have historically returned cash to shareholders through dividend payments and share buybacks since becoming a publicly-traded company.

Our History

We pioneered the pizza delivery business and built Domino’s Pizza® into one of the most widely-recognized consumer brands in the world. We have been delivering quality, affordable food to our customers since 1960, when brothers Thomas and James Monaghan borrowed $900 to purchase a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Thomas purchased his brother’s share of the business shortly thereafter. Concentrating first on building stores near college campuses and military bases in the 1960s and 1970s, the brand grew quickly in the 1980s in urban markets and near residential communities. We became “Domino’s Pizza” in 1965 and opened our first franchised store in 1967. The first international stores opened in 1983, in Canada and Australia.

Monaghan sold 93% of his economic stake in the Company in 1998 to Bain Capital, LLC, then sold and transferred his remaining stake in the Company in 2004, when we completed our initial public offering.

Since 1998, the Company has been structured with a leveraged balance sheet and has completed a number of recapitalization events. The Company’s most recent recapitalization transaction in 2015 (the “2015 Recapitalization”) primarily consisted of the issuance of $1.3 billion of fixed rate notes and the repurchase and retirement of $551 million of previously outstanding fixed rate notes. Following the 2015 Recapitalization, and including debt from its previous recapitalization in 2012 (the “2012 Recapitalization”), the Company had $2.24 billion in long-term debt.

We re-launched our brand in the U.S. in late 2009 by introducing a new recipe for our core pizza product. Since 2008, the majority of our menu has changed, either through the improvement of existing products or the introduction of new products, such as our Handmade Pan Pizza and Specialty Chicken. During this time frame, we also began expanding our focus on technology through our development of innovative ordering platforms and other technological advancements. Globally, we opened our 10,000th store in 2012, our 11,000th store in 2014 and our 12,000th store in 2015. In 2013, we announced a plan requiring all stores to adopt our new “Pizza Theater” store design, which is more inviting to customers and allows them to see their orders being made fresh in front of them. Our goal is to be substantially complete with these remodels by the end of 2017.

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Our Industry

The U.S. QSR pizza category is large and fragmented. From 2005 through 2015, the U.S. QSR pizza category has grown from $31.5 billion to $33.8 billion. It is the third-largest category within the $273.0 billion U.S. QSR sector. The U.S. QSR pizza category is primarily comprised of delivery, dine-in and carryout.

In the U.S., we compete primarily in the delivery and carryout segments of the pizza industry. We are the market share leader in the delivery segment and we have the second largest share in the carryout segment. Delivery segment sales of $9.7 billion in 2015 (down from $11.1 billion in 2005) account for approximately 29% of total U.S. QSR pizza. The delivery segment declined during the period from 2005 to 2012, and has increased slightly since 2012, from $9.6 billion in 2012 to $9.7 billion in 2015. The three industry leaders, including Domino’s, account for approximately 58% of U.S. pizza delivery, based on reported consumer spending, with the remaining sales going to regional chains and independent establishments. From 2005 to 2015, the carryout segment grew from $12.9 billion to $15.6 billion. The four industry leaders, including Domino’s, account for approximately 42% of the carryout segment.

In contrast to the U.S., international pizza delivery is relatively underdeveloped, with only Domino’s and two other competitors having a significant global presence. We believe that demand for pizza and pizza delivery is large and growing throughout the world, driven by international consumers’ increasing emphasis on convenience, and the proven success of our 30 years of conducting business abroad.

Our Competition

The global pizza delivery and carryout segments are highly competitive. In the U.S., we compete against regional and local companies as well as national chains Pizza Hut®, Papa John’s® and Little Caesars Pizza®. Internationally, we compete primarily with Pizza Hut®, Papa John’s® and country-specific national and local pizzerias. We generally compete on the basis of product quality, location, image, service, technology and price. Our business and those of our competitors can be affected by changes in consumer tastes, economic conditions, demographic trends and consumers’ disposable income. We compete not only for customers, but also for employees, suitable real estate sites and qualified franchisees.

Our Customers

The Company’s business is not dependent upon a single retail customer or small group of customers, including franchisees. No customer accounted for more than 10% of total consolidated revenues in 2015, 2014 or 2013. Our largest franchisee based on store count, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (ASX: DMP), operates 1,561 stores in six international markets, and accounts for 12% of our total store count. Revenues from this master franchisee accounted for 1.4% of our consolidated revenues in 2015. Our international business unit only requires a minimal amount of general and administrative expenses to operate its markets, and does not have costs of sales. Therefore, the vast majority of these royalty revenues result in profits to us.

Our Menu

We offer a menu designed to present an attractive, quality offering to customers, while keeping it simple enough to minimize order errors and expedite order-taking and food preparation. Our basic menu features pizza products with varying sizes and crust types. Our typical store also offers oven-baked sandwiches, pasta, boneless chicken and wings, bread side items, desserts and Coca-Cola® soft drink products. International markets vary toppings by country and culture, such as squid topping in Japan or spicy cheese in India, and often feature regional specialty items, such as a banana and cinnamon dessert pizza in Brazil.

Store Image and Operations

We have been focused primarily on pizza delivery for over 50 years, as well as carryout as a significant component of our business. In 2012, we introduced our carryout-friendly Pizza Theater store design; we expect that substantially all of our stores will convert to this design by the end of 2017. Many stores will offer casual seating and will enable customers to watch the preparation of their orders, but will not offer a full-service dine-in experience. As a result, our stores generally do not require expensive restaurant facilities and staffing.

Research and Development

We conduct research and product development at our World Resource Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Company-sponsored research and development activities, which include testing new products for possible menu additions, are an important activity for us and our franchisees. We do not consider the amounts spent on research and development to be material.

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Our Business Segments

We operate in, and report, three business segments: domestic stores, international franchise and supply chain.

Domestic Stores

Our domestic stores segment consists primarily of our franchise operations, through which we oversee a network of 4,816 franchised stores located in the contiguous United States. We also operate a network of 384 domestic Company-owned stores located in the contiguous United States.

During 2015, our domestic stores segment accounted for $669.7 million, or 30% of our consolidated revenues. We use our Company-owned stores as test sites for new products and promotions as well as operational improvements. We also use them for training new store managers and operations team members, as well as developing prospective franchisees. While we are primarily a franchised business, we continuously evaluate our mix of domestic Company-owned and franchise stores.

We maintain a productive relationship with our independent franchise owners through regional franchise teams, distributing materials that help franchise stores comply with our standards and using franchise advisory groups that facilitate communications between us and our franchisees.

Domestic Franchise Profile

As of January 3, 2016, our 4,816 domestic franchise stores were owned and operated by 841 domestic franchisees. Our franchise formula enables franchisees to benefit from our brand name with a relatively low initial capital investment. As of January 3, 2016, the average domestic franchisee owned and operated six stores and had been in our franchise system for over 17 years. At the same time, 13 of our domestic franchisees operated more than 50 stores (including our largest domestic franchisee who operated 191 stores) and 303 of our domestic franchisees each operated one store.

We apply rigorous standards to prospective domestic franchisees. We generally require them to manage a store for at least one year before being granted a franchise. This enables us to observe the operational and financial performance of a potential franchisee prior to entering into a long-term contract. Approximately 90% of our 841 independent domestic franchise owners started their careers with us as delivery drivers or in other in-store positions. We generally restrict the ability of domestic franchisees to be involved in other businesses, which focuses our franchisees’ attention on operating their stores. As a result, the majority of our domestic franchisees have historically come from within the Domino’s Pizza system. We believe these standards are largely unique to the franchise industry and result in qualified and focused franchisees operating their stores.

Domestic Franchise Agreements

We enter into franchise agreements with domestic franchisees under which the franchisee is granted the right to operate a store in a particular location for a term of ten years, with an ability to renew for an additional term of ten years. We have a franchise contract renewal rate of approximately 99%. Under the current standard franchise agreement, we assign an exclusive area of primary responsibility to each franchised store. Each franchisee is generally required to pay a 5.5% royalty fee on sales. In certain instances, we will collect lower rates based on area development agreements, sales initiatives and new store incentives.

Our domestic stores currently contribute 6% of their retail sales to fund national marketing and advertising campaigns (subject, in limited instances, to lower rates based on certain incentives and waivers). These funds are administered by Domino’s National Advertising Fund Inc. (“DNAF”), our not-for-profit advertising subsidiary. The funds are primarily used to purchase media for advertising, but also support market research, field communications, public relations, commercial production, talent payments and other activities to promote the brand. In addition to the national and market-level advertising contributions, domestic stores spend additional funds on local store marketing activities.

We have the contractual right, subject to state law, to terminate a franchise agreement for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, a franchisee’s failure to adhere to the Company’s franchise agreement, failure to make required payments, or failure to adhere to specified Company policies and standards.

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International Franchise

Our international franchise segment is comprised of a network of franchised stores in more than 80 international markets. At January 3, 2016, we had 7,330 international franchise stores. During 2015, this segment accounted for $163.6 million, or 7% of our consolidated revenues. The principal sources of revenues from those operations are royalty payments generated by retail sales from franchised stores.

Our international franchisees employ our basic standard operating model, and adapt it to satisfy the local eating habits and consumer preferences of various regions outside the United States. Currently, the vast majority of our international stores operate under master franchise agreements.

We believe Domino’s appeals to potential international franchisees because of our recognized brand name and technological leadership, the moderate capital expenditures required to open and operate our stores and our system’s favorable store economics. In our top ten markets, four master franchise companies are publicly traded on stock exchanges: in Australia (ASX: DMP), India (JUBLFOOD: NS), Mexico (ALSEA: MX) and the United Kingdom (DOM: L). The following table shows our store count as of January 3, 2016 in our top ten international markets, which account for approximately 71% of our international stores.

Market		Number of stores
India			989
United Kingdom			868
Mexico			622
Australia			571
Turkey			460
Japan			432
South Korea			417
Canada			402
France			259
Saudi Arabia			176

International Franchisee Profile

The vast majority of our markets outside of the contiguous United States are operated by master franchisees with franchise and distribution rights for entire regions or countries. In a few select markets, we franchise directly to individual store operators. Prospective master franchisees are required to possess local market knowledge to establish and develop Domino’s Pizza stores, with the ability to identify and access targeted real estate sites, as well as expertise in local laws, customs, culture and consumer behavior. We also seek candidates that have access to sufficient capital to meet growth and development plans.

Master Franchise Agreements

Our master franchise agreements generally grant the franchisee exclusive rights to develop or sub-franchise stores and the right to operate supply chain centers in particular geographic areas. Agreements are generally for a term of ten to 20 years, with options to renew for additional terms. The agreements typically contain growth clauses requiring franchisees to open a minimum number of stores within a specified period. The master franchisee is generally required to pay an initial, one-time franchise fee as well as an additional franchise fee upon the opening of each new store. The master franchisee is also required to pay a continuing royalty fee as a percentage of retail sales, which varies among international markets, and averaged approximately 3.1% in 2015.

Supply Chain

Our supply chain segment operates 18 regional dough manufacturing and food supply chain centers in the U.S., one thin crust manufacturing center, one vegetable processing center and one center providing equipment and supplies to certain of our domestic and international stores. We also operate five dough manufacturing and food supply chain centers in Canada. Our supply chain segment leases a fleet of more than 500 tractors and trailers. During 2015, our supply chain segment accounted for $1.38 billion, or 62% of our consolidated revenues.

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Our centers produce fresh dough and purchase, receive, store and deliver quality food and other complementary items to over 99% of our U.S. and Canadian franchised stores and all of our Company-owned stores. We regularly supply over 5,600 stores with various food and supplies. Our supply chain segment made approximately 581,000 full-service deliveries in 2015 or approximately two deliveries per store per week, and we produced over 415 million pounds of dough during 2015.

We believe our franchisees voluntarily choose to obtain food, supplies and equipment from us because we offer the most efficient, convenient and cost-effective alternative, while also offering both quality and consistency. Our supply chain segment offers profit-sharing arrangements to franchisees who purchase all of their food for their stores from our centers. These profit-sharing arrangements generally offer participating franchisees and Company-owned stores with 50% (or a higher percentage in the case of Company-owned stores and certain franchisees who operate a larger number of stores) of their regional supply chain center’s pre-tax profits. We believe these arrangements strengthen our ties and provide aligned benefits with franchisees.

Third-Party Suppliers

Over half of our annual food spend is with suppliers where we have maintained a partnership of at least 20 years. Our supply partners are required to meet strict quality standards to ensure food safety. We review and evaluate these partners’ quality assurance programs through (among other actions) on-site visits, third party audits and product evaluations to ensure compliance with our standards. We believe the length and quality of our relationships with third-party suppliers provides us with priority service and quality products at competitive prices.

Cheese is our largest food cost. The price we charge to our domestic franchisees for cheese is based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange cheddar block price, plus a supply chain markup. As cheese prices fluctuate, our revenues and margin percentages in our supply chain segment also fluctuate; however, actual supply chain dollar margins remain unchanged. We currently purchase our domestic pizza cheese from a single supplier. Under the September 2012 agreement, our domestic supplier agreed to provide an uninterrupted supply of cheese and the Company agreed to a five-year pricing schedule to purchase all of its domestic pizza cheese from this supplier. While we expect to meet the terms of this agreement, if we do not, we will be required to repay the cost savings as outlined in the agreement. The majority of our meat toppings in the U.S. come from a single supplier under a contract that began in November 2015 and expires in December 2016. We have the right to terminate these arrangements for quality failures and for uncured breaches.

We are party to a multi-year agreement with Coca-Cola for the contiguous United States. This contract, renegotiated in December 2013, provides for Coca-Cola to continue to be our exclusive beverage supplier and expires on December 31, 2018 or at such time as a minimum number of cases of Coca-Cola products are purchased by us, whichever occurs later.

We believe alternative third-party suppliers are available for all of these referenced products. While we may incur additional costs if we are required to replace any of our supply partners, we do not believe such additional costs would have a material adverse effect on our business. We continually evaluate each supply category to determine the optimal sourcing strategy.

We have not experienced any significant shortages of supplies or delays in receiving our inventories or products. Prices charged to us by our supply partners are subject to fluctuation, and we have historically been able to pass increased costs and savings on to our stores. We periodically enter into supplier contracts to manage the risk from changes in commodity prices. We do not engage in speculative transactions, nor do we hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.

Our Strengths

Strong Brand Equity

We are the second largest pizza company in the world. We believe our Domino’s Pizza® brand is one of the most widely-recognized consumer brands in the world. We are the recognized world leader in pizza delivery and have a significant business in carryout. We believe consumers associate our brand with the timely delivery of quality, affordable food.

Over the past five years, our U.S. franchise and Company-owned stores have invested an estimated $1.5 billion in national, co-operative and local advertising. Our international franchisees also invest significant amounts in advertising efforts in their markets. We continue to reinforce our brand with extensive advertising through various media channels. We have also enhanced the strength of our brand through marketing affiliations with brands such as Coca-Cola.

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We are the number one pizza delivery company in the United States with a 28.0% share of pizza delivery based on reported consumer spending. With 5,200 stores located in the contiguous United States, our store delivery areas cover a majority of U.S. households. Our share position and scale allow us to leverage our purchasing power, supply chain strength and marketing investments. We believe our scale and market coverage allow us to effectively serve our customers’ demands for convenience and timely delivery. Outside the U.S., we have significant market share positions in many of the markets in which we compete.

Strong and Proven Business Model

Our business model is comprised of domestic and international franchise royalties and fees, revenue from supply chain and revenue from retail sales at Company-owned stores. We have developed this model over our many years of operation and it is anchored by strong store-level economics, which provide an entrepreneurial incentive for our franchisees and historically has generated demand for new stores. Our franchise system, in turn, has produced strong and consistent earnings for us through royalty payments and through supply chain revenues, with moderate associated capital expenditures by us.

We developed a cost-efficient store model, characterized by a delivery- and carryout-oriented store design, with moderate capital requirements and a menu of quality, affordable items. At the store level, we believe the simplicity and efficiency of our operations give us significant advantages over our competitors, who, in many cases, also focus on dine-in or have broader menu offerings. At the supply chain level, we believe we provide quality and consistency for our franchise customers while also driving profits for us, which we share with our franchisees.

Our menu simplifies and streamlines production and delivery processes and maximizes economies of scale on purchases of our principal food items. In addition, our stores are small (historically averaging approximately 1,500 square feet) and less expensive to build, furnish and maintain as compared to many other restaurant concepts. Although new stores built in our Pizza Theater design may be slightly larger than stores we have built in the past, they are still generally smaller and less expensive than many other restaurant concepts. The combination of this efficient store model and strong sales volume has resulted in strong store-level financial returns and, we believe, makes Domino’s Pizza an attractive business opportunity for existing and prospective franchisees around the world.

We believe our store economics have led to a strong, well-diversified franchise system. This established franchise system has produced strong cash flow and earnings for us, enabling us to invest in the Domino’s Pizza® brand, stores, technology and supply chain centers, pay significant dividends, repurchase and retire shares of our common stock and repurchase and retire outstanding principal on our fixed rate notes.

Technological Innovation

Technological innovation is vital to our brand and our long-term success. Digital ordering is critical to competing in the global pizza industry. In 2015, approximately 50% of our U.S. sales came via digital platforms. That metric is higher in some of our international markets. We believe we are among the largest e-commerce retailers in terms of annual transactions. After launching digital ordering domestically in 2008, we made the strategic decision in 2010 to develop our own online ordering platform and to manage this important and growing area of our business internally. Over the next five years, we launched mobile applications that cover 95% of the smartphones and tablets on the U.S. market. In 2013, we launched an enhanced online ordering profiles platform, allowing customers the ability to reorder their favorite order in as few as five clicks, or 30 seconds. In 2014, we introduced “Dom,” a voice ordering application, which we believe is the first in the restaurant industry, and we also made the Domino’s Tracker® available on the Pebble smartwatch platform. In 2015, we introduced several innovative ordering platforms including Samsung Smart TV®, Twitter, and text message using a pizza emoji.

During 2015, the Company also launched its “Piece of the Pie Rewards” loyalty program, which is meant to reward customers with a program that is simple to understand and easy to use. Upon signing up for the program, customers become rewards members and can earn points for online orders. When rewards members reach a certain amount of points, they can redeem their points for free pizza. Rewards members may also receive exclusive members-only discounts and bonus offers.

All of this improved functionality has been developed to work seamlessly with our Domino’s PULSE™ point-of-sale system. Our Domino’s PULSE system is designed to improve operating efficiencies for our franchisees and our corporate management and assist franchisees in independently managing their business. We have installed Domino’s PULSE in every Company-owned store in the U.S., in more than 99% of our domestic franchised stores and in nearly 60% of our international stores.

We believe utilizing Domino’s PULSE with our integrated technology solutions throughout our system, provides us with competitive advantages over other concepts. We intend to continue to enhance and grow our online ordering, digital marketing and technological capabilities.

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Product Innovation

In late 2009, we reintroduced our core pizza with a new recipe, which we believe has been key to our continued growth in customer reorder rate, consumer traffic and increased sales. This recipe is now in use in the vast majority of markets around the world. Our more than 50 years of innovation have resulted in numerous new product developments, including our more recent innovations of Handmade Pan Pizza, Specialty Chicken, Parmesan Bread Bites, Stuffed Cheesy Bread, and Marbled Cookie Brownie, among others. Product innovation is also present in our global markets, where our master franchisees have the ability to recommend products to suit their local market tastes. Products include the Mayo Jaga in Japan (bacon, potatoes and sweet mayonnaise) and the Saumoneta in France (light cream, potatoes, onions, smoked salmon and dill).

Internal Dough Manufacturing and Supply Chain System

In addition to generating significant revenues and earnings in the United States and Canada, we believe our vertically integrated dough manufacturing and supply chain system enhances the quality and consistency of our products, enhances our relationships with franchisees and leverages economies of scale to offer lower costs to our stores. It also allows store managers to better focus on store operations and customer service by relieving them of the responsibility of mixing dough in the stores and sourcing other ingredients. Many of our international master franchisees also profit from running supply chain businesses.

Our Ideals

We believe in: opportunity, hard work, inspired solutions, winning together, embracing community, and uncommon honesty.

Opportunity abounds at Domino’s. You can start in an entry-level position and become a store owner – in fact, 90% of our independent domestic franchise owners started their careers with us as delivery drivers or in other in-store positions. Thousands of other team members – supervisors, trainers, quality auditors, international business consultants, marketers and executives – also began their careers in the stores. Internal growth and providing opportunities for anyone willing to work hard is the foundation of our core beliefs.

The ideals of inspired solutions, uncommon honesty and winning together were driving forces behind the relaunch of our brand. We were inspired by our harshest critics when it came to the perceived taste of our pizza. Our solution was not simply more advertising; the solution was to create a new recipe and a broader menu of great-tasting products. Our marketing campaign was shockingly honest in its approach: telling consumers (and showing them via television ads) that we heard their negative feedback and were listening. And, without the buy-in from our franchise owners, we couldn’t have done it. We believe that we can’t focus solely on the Company’s success; we must focus on making our stores and our franchisees successful. That’s winning together.

Community Involvement

We believe in supporting the communities we serve through donating our time, money and pizza. You can find more information about our community giving at biz.dominos.com. Here are two organizations worthy of note:

Our national philanthropic partner is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. St. Jude is internationally-recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Through a variety of internal and consumer-based activities, including a national fundraising campaign called St. Jude Thanks and Giving®, the Domino’s Pizza system has contributed more than $30.5 million to St. Jude since our partnership began in 2004, including $5.4 million in 2015. In 2015, Domino’s cut the ribbon on the Domino’s Event Center, a 10,000 square foot addition to the St. Jude campus in Memphis, Tenn., which was part of a $35 million donation pledge over the next eight years. In addition to raising funds, we have supported St. Jude through in-kind donations, including hosting hospital-wide pizza parties for patients and their families. Our system also helps St. Jude build awareness through the inclusion of the St. Jude logo on millions of our pizza boxes and through a link on our consumer website.

We also support the Domino’s Pizza Partners Foundation. Founded in 1986, the mission of the Partners Foundation is “Team Members Helping Team Members.” Primarily funded by team member and franchise contributions, the foundation is a separate, not-for-profit organization that has disbursed more than $16.0 million since its inception, to meet the needs of Domino’s team members facing crisis situations, such as fire, illness, or other personal tragedies.

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Additional Disclosures

Employees

As of January 3, 2016, we had approximately 11,900 employees in our Company-owned stores, supply chain centers, World Resource Center (our corporate headquarters) and regional offices. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. As franchisees are independent business owners, they and their employees are not included in our employee count. We consider our relationship with our employees and franchisees to be good. We estimate the total number of people who work in the Domino’s Pizza system, including our employees, franchisees and the employees of franchisees, was more than 260,000 as of January 3, 2016.

Working Capital

Information about the Company’s working capital is included in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7., pages 33 through 36.

Government Regulation

We, along with our franchisees, are subject to various federal, state and local laws affecting the operation of our business. Each store is subject to licensing and regulation by a number of governmental authorities, which include zoning, health, safety, sanitation, building and fire agencies in the jurisdiction in which the store is located. In connection with maintaining our stores, we may be required to expend funds to meet certain federal, state and local regulations, including regulations requiring that remodeled or altered stores be accessible to persons with disabilities. Difficulties in obtaining, or the failure to obtain, required licenses or approvals could delay or prevent the opening of a new store in a particular area or cause an existing store to cease operations. Our supply chain facilities are also licensed and subject to similar regulations by federal, state and local health and fire codes.

We are also subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and various other federal and state laws governing such matters as minimum wage requirements, overtime and other working conditions and citizenship requirements. A significant number of both our and our franchisees’ food service personnel are paid at rates related to the applicable minimum wage, and past increases in the minimum wage have increased labor costs, as would future increases.

We are subject to the rules and regulations of the Federal Trade Commission and various state laws regulating the offer and sale of franchises. The Federal Trade Commission and various state laws require that we furnish a franchise disclosure document containing certain information to prospective franchisees, and a number of states require registration of the franchise disclosure document with state authorities. We are operating under exemptions from registration in several states based on the net worth of our subsidiary, Domino’s Pizza Franchising LLC, and experience. We believe our franchise disclosure document, together with any applicable state versions or supplements, and franchising procedures comply in all material respects with both the Federal Trade Commission guidelines and all applicable state laws regulating franchising in those states in which we have offered franchises.

Internationally, our franchise stores are subject to national and local laws and regulations that are often similar to those affecting our domestic stores, including laws and regulations concerning franchises, labor, health, sanitation and safety. Our international stores are also often subject to tariffs and regulations on imported commodities and equipment, and laws regulating foreign investment. We believe our international disclosure statements, franchise offering documents and franchising procedures comply in all material respects with the laws of the foreign countries in which we have offered franchises.

Privacy and Data Protection

We are subject to a number of privacy and data protection laws and regulations globally. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve, and there has been an increase in attention given to privacy and data protection issues with the potential to directly affect our business. This includes recently-enacted laws and regulations in the United States and internationally requiring notification to individuals and government authorities of security breaches involving certain categories of personal information. We have a privacy policy posted on our website at www.dominos.com and believe that we are in material compliance therewith.

Trademarks

We have many registered trademarks and service marks and believe that the Domino’s® mark and Domino’s Pizza® names and logos, in particular, have significant value and are important to our business. Our policy is to pursue registration of our trademarks and to vigorously oppose the infringement of any of our trademarks. We license the use of our registered marks to franchisees through franchise agreements.

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Environmental Matters

We are not aware of any federal, state or local environmental laws or regulations that we would expect to materially affect our earnings or competitive position, or result in material capital expenditures. However, we cannot predict the effect of possible future environmental legislation or regulations. During 2015, there were no material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities, and no such material expenditures are anticipated in 2016.

Seasonal Operations

The Company’s business is not typically seasonal.

Backlog Orders

The Company has no backlog orders as of January 3, 2016.

Government Contracts

No material portion of the Company’s business is subject to renegotiation of profits or termination of contracts or subcontracts at the election of the United States government.

Financial Information about Business Segments and Geographic Areas

Financial information about international and United States markets and business segments is incorporated herein by reference to Selected Financial Data, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the consolidated financial statements and related footnotes in Part II, Item 6., pages 22 through 23, Item 7. and 7A., pages 24 through 39 and Item 8., pages 40 through 71, respectively, of this Form 10-K.

Available Information

The Company makes available, free of charge, through its internet website biz.dominos.com, its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a), 15(d), or 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may read and copy any materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. This information is also available at www.sec.gov. The reference to these website addresses does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the websites and information appearing on those websites, including biz.dominos.com, should not be considered a part of this document.

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