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A chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the United Kingdom might have hit maximum pizza demand while diversifying the chain into fried chicken has been replaced after tensions with its directors.

Executive Change

Andrew Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in leadership, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had sought to redirect the UK's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the fastest-growing menu item in the world.

Board Tensions

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the governance team over his focus and management style, although the company's official statement said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

New Brand Introduction

In September, the chain unveiled its poultry offering – which the former chief called a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its extensive network next year as planned, it views fried chicken as complementary to its core pizza business.

Leadership Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are prioritizing identifying the suitable leader to direct the disciplined execution of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said sales declined by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the closure of multiple locations a month ago, after the company behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Wellness Initiatives

Responding to customer preferences towards balanced diets, the company has launched lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust line of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and wheat-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since 2021, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is thought that she does not want to occupy the chief executive role long-term.

Frampton stated: “The company has a number of current expansion and operational projects that we will be focused on executing at speed.”

She added these involved ongoing development on the organization's procurement system and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also without a long-term chief financial officer until 16 March, when a new appointee starts from the beverage producer C&C Group. For now, Snow serves as temporary CFO.