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A chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the franchise into poultry items has been ousted after tensions with its directors.

Leadership Transition

Rennie is departing after only 24 months in charge, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's seeks a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who was with Domino's for more than two decades, had sought to redirect the UK's leading pizza food delivery firm towards chicken offerings, commenting recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the fastest-growing menu item in the world.

Board Friction

Reports indicate that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's release said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused brand – which the former chief referred to as a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is testing it in 210 outlets in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as intended, it considers chicken products as an addition to its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chair, stated: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to drive further growth and profitability in the main pizza segment. We are focused on finding the suitable leader to lead the careful implementation of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders fell by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Another major chain revealed the closure of multiple locations a last month, after the business behind its British operations fell into administration.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards better nutrition, Domino's has rolled out lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust range of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as vegan and allergy-friendly options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and was formerly with the gaming group a well-known operator. It is thought that she is not seeking to assume the chief executive role permanently.

She commented: “Our team has a several ongoing expansion and operational projects that we will be concentrating on carrying out at speed.”

She added these involved additional efforts on the company's procurement system and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a full-time finance director until the spring, when Andrea comes aboard from the beverage producer C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow acts as temporary CFO.