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A head of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the UK might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the franchise into fried chicken has been ousted after disagreements with its board.

Executive Transition

The former CEO is exiting after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who worked for Domino's for more than two decades, had aimed to shift Britain's largest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, stating recently there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He said poultry was the fastest-growing protein in the international market.

Board Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was tension between Rennie and the board over his focus and business vision, although Domino's official statement said he was departing “as a joint decision”.

Recent Brand Launch

In the autumn, the chain introduced its chicken-focused offering – which the former chief called a “bold new chapter” for the group – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as intended, it regards chicken products as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chairman, commented: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and value creation in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on selecting the ideal CEO to oversee the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said orders dipped by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In the summer, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Competitors are also struggling. Pizza Hut announced the closure of multiple locations a recently, after the company behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has launched light items, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and wheat-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and was formerly with the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she does not want to assume the CEO position permanently.

She commented: “Our team has a multiple current growth and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on carrying out at pace.”

She said these included ongoing development on the company's procurement system and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time chief financial officer until the spring, when Andrea comes aboard from the beverage producer a well-known firm. For now, Richard Snow serves as temporary CFO.