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The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while expanding the chain into chicken products has been replaced after disagreements with its governing body.

Executive Change

The former CEO is departing after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's looks for a new leader.

Rennie, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had attempted to redirect Britain's largest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, stating in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the quickest rising protein in the globe.

Governance Tensions

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between Rennie and the governance team over his approach and direction, although Domino's announcement said he was departing “as a joint decision”.

New Brand Introduction

In the autumn, the chain unveiled its Chick 'N' Dip product line – which Rennie referred to as a “significant new phase” for the group – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and the province.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as scheduled, it considers chicken products as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and profitability in Domino's core business. We are focused on selecting the ideal CEO to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said orders dipped by one and a half percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the budget and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of multiple locations a recently, after the business behind its outlets faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards healthier eating, the company has rolled out reduced-calorie items, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcal as well as vegan and wheat-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to occupy the chief executive role long-term.

She said: “The company has a several ongoing expansion and performance initiatives that we will be focused on executing at pace.”

She added these comprised further work on the company's supply chain and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a permanent chief financial officer until the spring, when Andrea starts from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. Until then, Richard Snow is acting financial officer.