Domino’s Pizza master franchisee DPC Dash opened 84 net new stores across China in the third quarter of 2026, bringing its total footprint to 1,634 locations.

The operator entered 12 new cities during the three-month period ending September 30, pushing its total market coverage to 87 cities across the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. Over the first nine months of the year, the Hong Kong-listed group added 319 net outlets and entered 27 cities, effectively locking in its full-year expansion target of roughly 350 net additions through units already open, under construction or contracted.

New city markets now house 726 restaurants, or 44 per cent of the total network, while mature initial markets account for the remaining 908 outlets. Rapid expansion into lower-tier cities has diluted overhead, yet it also exposes the group to consumers who are less familiar with Western fast food and far more price sensitive than diners in Beijing or Shanghai.

While customer footfall and order volumes increased, same-store sales growth remained negative during the quarter. Lower average transaction values compared with the third quarter of 2025 offset the gain in customer traffic.

Average transaction prices did rise modestly from the second quarter of 2026 as third-party food delivery aggregators reined in platform subsidies. Even so, consumer spending per order across the Chinese dining sector remains lower than peak levels, forcing operators to rely on high volume to protect store margins.

Delivery orders represented 30 per cent of total transaction volume in new city markets in the third quarter, rising from 25 per cent during the first half of the year.

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