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A boss of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while broadening the chain into chicken products has been replaced after disagreements with its directors.

Leadership Transition

Rennie is exiting after just two years in the top role, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the company's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a new leader.

Rennie, who was with the company for a substantial period, had attempted to pivot the UK's biggest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, commenting in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He noted poultry was the most rapidly expanding protein in the globe.

Governance Friction

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his focus and business vision, although the company's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

New Product Launch

In September, Domino's introduced its chicken-focused brand – which the former chief described as a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the North West region and the province.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as intended, it considers chicken products as an addition to its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the company chair, said: “Directors think that there are a range of possibilities to drive further growth and value creation in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on selecting the right chief executive to lead the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Market Difficulties

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said orders dipped by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain revealed the closing of dozens of outlets a last month, after the company behind its outlets fell into administration.

Wellness Efforts

Adapting to customer preferences towards healthier eating, Domino's has introduced light products, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

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

She said: “We have a multiple active expansion and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to implementing at speed.”

She said these involved additional efforts on the company's supply chain and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a long-term chief financial officer until 16 March, when Andrea comes aboard from the drinks company a well-known firm. Until then, Snow acts as temporary CFO.