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The head of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached peak pizza while diversifying the franchise into chicken products has been ousted after disagreements with its governing body.

Executive Shake-Up

Andrew Rennie is departing after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who was with the company for more than two decades, had sought to redirect the UK's leading pizza food delivery firm towards fried chicken, remarking recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He observed chicken was the quickest rising protein in the globe.

Board Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was tension between the CEO and the directors over his approach and management style, although Domino's release said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Introduction

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused product line – which the former chief referred to as a “significant new phase” for the company – and is trialling it in 210 outlets in the North West region and the province.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in the coming year as scheduled, it views fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Comment

Bull, the Domino's chair, stated: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are prioritizing finding the suitable leader to lead the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Market Challenges

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders declined by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In August, it alerted that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it blamed reduced spending in the period before the budget and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closure of multiple locations a recently, after the company behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards healthier eating, the company has rolled out reduced-calorie items, such as its thin-crust line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as vegan and allergy-friendly pizzas. A family-sized pepperoni has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gaming group a well-known operator. It is understood that she does not want to assume the top job permanently.

She said: “Our team has a number of ongoing growth and performance initiatives that we will be focused on executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these included further work on the company's supply chain and menu innovation, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time CFO until the spring, when Andrea joins from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Snow is temporary CFO.