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The head of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the United Kingdom might have reached peak pizza while diversifying the franchise into poultry items has been removed after conflicts with its board.

Executive Change

Rennie is departing after just two years in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's seeks a long-term chief.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for over 20 years, had aimed to shift the UK's largest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, stating in a recent interview there was not “massive growth” left in the UK's pizza market. He observed chicken was the fastest-growing food category in the world.

Board Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between the CEO and the board over his focus and direction, although the company's official statement said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's introduced its poultry product line – which the former chief referred to as a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as scheduled, it regards fried chicken as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Board Statement

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chairman, said: “We are confident that there are a series of prospects to enhance value and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the ideal CEO to lead the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders dipped by 1.5% in the third quarter. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closure of 68 restaurants a last month, after the company behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with customer preferences towards healthier eating, Domino's has introduced light products, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with the company since 2021, and had a background at the betting firm a well-known operator. It is thought that she prefers not to occupy the top job permanently.

She said: “Our team has a several active growth and operational projects that we will be concentrating on carrying out at speed.”

She added these involved additional efforts on the organization's logistics network and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time chief financial officer until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow is temporary CFO.