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

Executive Transition

Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who worked for Domino's for a substantial period, had attempted to shift Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, remarking recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He observed chicken was the fastest-growing food category in the globe.

Board Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the governance team over his focus and direction, although the company's announcement said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Introduction

In September, Domino's introduced its chicken-focused product line – which Rennie called a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as intended, it views fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

Bull, the Domino's chair, stated: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and value creation in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on identifying the right chief executive to oversee the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said orders dipped by 1.5% in the Q3. In August, it warned that the quick-service industry had “intensified” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the budget and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the closure of multiple locations a last month, after the business behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards better nutrition, Domino's has rolled out reduced-calorie items, such as its thin-crust line of bakes below 400 calories as well as vegan and gluten-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to occupy the chief executive role long-term.

She said: “We have a several ongoing expansion and efficiency programs that we will be focused on carrying out at a rapid rate.”

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

Domino's is also in need of a permanent CFO until the spring, when a new appointee starts from the drinks company a well-known firm. For now, Richard Snow is temporary CFO.