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A head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the UK might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the company into fried chicken has been removed after tensions with its governing body.

Executive Shake-Up

Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a new leader.

Rennie, who served at the company for a substantial period, had aimed to pivot Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, stating recently there was not “huge potential” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said poultry was the quickest rising food category in the international market.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Brand Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's launched its chicken-focused brand – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the company – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in 2026 as planned, it views chicken products as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, stated: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to drive further growth and value creation in our primary operations. We are concentrating on finding the right chief executive to oversee the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Market Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said sales dipped by one and a half percent in the Q3. In the summer, it alerted that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it attributed reduced spending in the run-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in six-month income.

Competitors are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of 68 restaurants a last month, after the company behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Wellness Initiatives

Adapting to consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has rolled out lower-calorie items, such as its light base selection of pizzas below 400 calories as well as plant-based and wheat-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has 909 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to take on the chief executive role permanently.

Frampton stated: “We have a several current growth and efficiency programs that we will be concentrating on implementing at a rapid rate.”

Frampton noted these comprised ongoing development on the company's logistics network and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also lacking a long-term finance director until 16 March, when Andy Andrea joins from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.