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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the UK might have hit maximum pizza demand while broadening the company into fried chicken has been removed after tensions with its governing body.

Executive Change

Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for over 20 years, had attempted to pivot Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, stating in a recent interview there was not “massive growth” left in the UK's pizza market. He observed poultry was the quickest rising food category in the world.

Board Friction

It is understood that there was disagreement between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's release said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Launch

In September, Domino's introduced its chicken-focused brand – which the former chief called a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is trialling it in select stores in the north-west of England and the province.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores next year as planned, it regards chicken products as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

Ian Bull, the company chair, stated: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and profitability in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on identifying the right chief executive to oversee the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said orders fell by one and a half percent in the third quarter. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a 15% drop in interim earnings.

Competitors are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of multiple locations a recently, after the company behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Adapting to consumer trends towards healthier eating, the company has launched light items, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 calories as well as plant-based and gluten-free options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Leadership

The interim chief has been with Domino's since the recent past, and had a background at the gambling company William Hill. It is believed that she does not want to assume the top job long-term.

She said: “The company has a several ongoing development and operational projects that we will be concentrating on implementing at pace.”

She said these comprised ongoing development on the company's procurement system and product development, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also lacking a long-term CFO until 16 March, when Andrea starts from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Snow is acting financial officer.