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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the United Kingdom might have hit maximum pizza demand while diversifying the chain into poultry items has been removed after disagreements with its board.

Executive Transition

Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant searches for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for a substantial period, had sought to redirect the UK's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He said poultry was the most rapidly expanding food category in the international market.

Governance Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between Rennie and the board over his focus and management style, although Domino's release said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

Recent Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's launched its poultry offering – which Rennie described as a “significant new phase” for the company – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as intended, it regards fried chicken as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the company chairman, said: “Directors think that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and profitability in Domino's core business. We are focused on selecting the suitable leader to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said sales fell by 1.5% in the third quarter. In August, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it attributed reduced spending in the period before the budget and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the company behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Health Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched light items, such as its Thin & Crispy range of bakes below 400 kcals as well as meat-free and wheat-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 calories.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the gambling company a well-known operator. It is thought that she prefers not to assume the CEO position long-term.

Frampton stated: “The company has a multiple ongoing growth and performance initiatives that we will be focused on carrying out at speed.”

Frampton noted these included additional efforts on the organization's logistics network and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also lacking a permanent finance director until 16 March, when Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.