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A chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the UK might have hit pizza saturation while broadening the company into poultry items has been replaced after conflicts with its board.

Leadership Shake-Up

Rennie is exiting after just two years in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for Domino's for over 20 years, had sought to shift Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, commenting earlier this month there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He noted poultry was the fastest-growing menu item in the globe.

Governance Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was tension between Rennie and the directors over his approach and direction, although Domino's official statement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

Recent Brand Launch

In September, Domino's unveiled its poultry brand – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

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

Board Comment

Bull, the company chair, said: “We are confident that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and profitability in the main pizza segment. We are focused on identifying the right chief executive to oversee the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, 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 alerted that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it blamed reduced spending in the lead-up to the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the shutting of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the firm behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has introduced light options, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 calories as well as vegan and wheat-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gambling company William Hill. It is thought that she does not want to assume the chief executive role on a full-time basis.

She commented: “Our team has a number of active growth and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on executing at pace.”

Frampton noted these included ongoing development on the company's supply chain and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time CFO until the spring, when Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow serves as temporary CFO.