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The head of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the United Kingdom might have reached maximum pizza demand while broadening the franchise into fried chicken has been replaced after conflicts with its board.

Leadership Transition

Andrew Rennie is leaving after just two years in the top role, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who served at Domino's for over 20 years, had aimed to redirect the UK's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, commenting recently there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the globe.

Board Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between the CEO and the board over his focus and management style, although the company's announcement said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's launched its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which the former chief called a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is trialling 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 extensive network in the coming year as intended, it views fried chicken as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chair, commented: “We are confident that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on identifying the suitable leader to oversee the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

In the latest update, Domino's, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said transactions dipped by 1.5% in the third quarter. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed reduced spending in the run-up to the budget and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in six-month income.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the closing of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Adapting to market shifts towards better nutrition, Domino's has introduced light options, such as its Thin & Crispy range of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly pizzas. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she does not want to take on the top job permanently.

She commented: “We have a several current growth and efficiency programs that we will be concentrating on executing at speed.”

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

Domino's is also in need of a full-time finance director until 16 March, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow acts as interim finance chief.