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A boss of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the franchise into fried chicken has been removed after tensions with its board.

Executive Shake-Up

The former CEO is leaving after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who was with the company for over 20 years, had aimed to pivot the UK's largest pizza food delivery firm towards chicken offerings, commenting recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the international market.

Governance Tensions

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the board over his focus and management style, although the company's official statement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

Recent Brand Launch

In the autumn, the chain launched its poultry brand – which Rennie called a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is testing it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still intending to launch it across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as scheduled, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

Bull, the company chairman, stated: “We are confident that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on identifying the right chief executive to lead the careful implementation of that development approach.”

Market Challenges

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said orders fell by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “become tougher” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain disclosed the closure of multiple locations a last month, after the company behind its British operations fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Responding to customer preferences towards healthier eating, Domino's has launched lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust range of pizzas below 400 calories as well as vegan and wheat-free pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has over 2,300 kcal. A family cheese pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since 2021, and had a background at the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she is not seeking to take on the top job on a full-time basis.

She said: “The company has a number of active development and performance initiatives that we will be focused on executing at a rapid rate.”

She added these comprised ongoing development on the company's supply chain and product development, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also in need of a long-term CFO until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company a well-known firm. Until then, Snow is acting financial officer.