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The head of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while expanding the company into poultry items has been ousted after conflicts with its directors.

Leadership Shake-Up

Andrew Rennie is departing after just two years in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had sought to pivot the UK's biggest pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, commenting earlier this month there was not “huge potential” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He observed poultry was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the world.

Governance Friction

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and management style, although the company's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Launch

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused product line – which Rennie described as a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores next year as intended, it views chicken products as a supplement for its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Comment

Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on selecting the right chief executive to direct the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said sales declined by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it attributed reduced spending in the lead-up to the budget and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the closing of 68 restaurants a recently, after the business behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Wellness Initiatives

Adapting to customer preferences towards better nutrition, Domino's has introduced reduced-calorie items, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and wheat-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the betting firm a well-known operator. It is understood that she does not want to occupy the CEO position long-term.

Frampton stated: “The company has a several ongoing development and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these involved additional efforts on the company's supply chain and new item creation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also lacking a long-term CFO until March 16, when a new appointee starts from the beverage producer a well-known firm. For now, Snow serves as acting financial officer.