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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the UK might have hit pizza saturation while diversifying the company into fried chicken has been replaced after disagreements with its directors.

Executive Transition

Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's seeks a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had aimed to shift Britain's biggest pizza delivery company towards fried chicken, commenting earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the British pizza industry. He noted poultry was the fastest-growing menu item in the international market.

Board Tensions

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the board over his strategy and direction, although the company's release said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Introduction

In September, Domino's launched its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which the former chief called a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still intending to launch it across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as scheduled, it considers fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Comment

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chairman, stated: “We are confident that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the suitable leader to oversee the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Challenges

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said orders dipped by one and a half percent in the Q3. In August, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the budget and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut revealed the closure of 68 restaurants a last month, after the business behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has launched light products, such as its thin-crust selection of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and gluten-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

The interim chief has been with the company since 2021, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she does not want to occupy the top job permanently.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a number of active growth and operational projects that we will be concentrating on implementing at pace.”

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

The pizza chain is also in need of a full-time finance director until 16 March, when Andy Andrea joins from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.