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A chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the franchise into chicken products has been ousted after tensions with its board.

Leadership Shake-Up

The former CEO is departing after just two years in leadership, 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 served at the company for a substantial period, had sought to shift Britain's leading pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, remarking in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He said poultry was the most rapidly expanding protein in the globe.

Governance Tensions

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his strategy and direction, although Domino's official statement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Product Launch

In September, the chain introduced its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is trialling it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and the province.

While the company is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as scheduled, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the Domino's chairman, stated: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and profitability in the main pizza segment. We are prioritizing identifying the ideal CEO to oversee the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said transactions fell by 1.5% in the Q3. In the summer, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut disclosed the closure of multiple locations a recently, after the company behind its outlets entered insolvency.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched light items, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group William Hill. It is believed that she is not seeking to assume the chief executive role long-term.

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

She said these comprised additional efforts on the organization's supply chain and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also without a permanent finance director until March 16, when Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. Until then, Snow acts as acting financial officer.