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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the UK might have hit pizza saturation while expanding the franchise into chicken products has been removed after disagreements with its directors.

Leadership Transition

Andrew Rennie is departing after just two years in charge, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for a substantial period, had aimed to redirect the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, commenting in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the international market.

Governance Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his strategy and management style, although Domino's official statement said he was leaving “as a joint decision”.

Recent Product Launch

In September, Domino's introduced its chicken-focused offering – which the former chief described as a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores next year as intended, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “Directors think that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and value creation in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on identifying the suitable leader to direct the careful implementation of that development approach.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said transactions dipped by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In August, it warned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it blamed reduced spending in the lead-up to the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Other pizza operators are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut revealed the closure of dozens of outlets a last month, after the business behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has rolled out light items, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcals 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, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since 2021, and was formerly with the betting firm William Hill. It is believed that she does not want to assume the top job long-term.

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

She added these included ongoing development on the organization's logistics network and product development, and its rewards program.

Domino's is also lacking a long-term CFO until 16 March, when Andy Andrea joins from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow is temporary CFO.