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A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have reached maximum pizza demand while diversifying the franchise into poultry items has been removed after conflicts with its directors.

Leadership Shake-Up

Rennie is departing after a brief tenure in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's seeks a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who worked for Domino's for more than two decades, had sought to pivot Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting recently there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the fastest-growing protein in the globe.

Board Tensions

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the directors over his strategy and business vision, although the company's release said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Product Introduction

In September, the chain launched its chicken-focused product line – which the former chief described as a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still intending to launch it across its almost 1,400 stores next year as scheduled, it considers chicken products as an addition to its core pizza business.

Board Statement

Bull, the Domino's chair, stated: “Directors think that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and profitability in the main pizza segment. We are prioritizing selecting the suitable leader to lead the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

In the latest update, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said transactions fell by 1.5% in the Q3. In the summer, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in six-month income.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain disclosed the shutting of dozens of outlets a last month, after the business behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with market shifts towards better nutrition, Domino's has launched light items, such as its light base selection of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as vegan and gluten-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the betting firm a well-known operator. It is thought that she is not seeking to assume the chief executive role permanently.

She commented: “We have a several current growth and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to executing at speed.”

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

The pizza chain is also in need of a permanent finance director until the spring, when a new appointee starts from the drinks company C&C Group. In the meantime, Richard Snow serves as temporary CFO.