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The boss of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the UK might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the company into chicken products has been ousted after tensions with its directors.

Leadership Shake-Up

Rennie is leaving after just two years in the top role, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for over 20 years, had attempted to shift the UK's biggest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, remarking recently there was not “huge potential” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He observed chicken was the most rapidly expanding food category in the world.

Governance Tensions

It is understood that there was tension between Rennie and the board over his approach and management style, although Domino's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Introduction

In September, the chain introduced its chicken-focused offering – which Rennie referred to as a “significant new phase” for the company – and is piloting it in over 200 locations 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 planned, it regards chicken products as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, commented: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on finding the ideal CEO to lead the careful implementation of that expansion plan.”

Market 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 third quarter. In August, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a 15 percent decline in half-year profits.

Competitors are also struggling. Pizza Hut announced the closure of multiple locations a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Adapting to market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has introduced reduced-calorie products, such as its thin-crust selection of bakes below 400 kcals as well as meat-free and allergy-friendly options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the gambling company a well-known operator. It is believed that she is not seeking to occupy the CEO position on a full-time basis.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a multiple ongoing growth and operational projects that we will be concentrating on implementing at a rapid rate.”

Frampton noted these involved further work on the company's procurement system and new item creation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also in need of a permanent CFO until March 16, when a new appointee starts from the beverage producer C&C Group. In the meantime, Richard Snow is interim finance chief.