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A head of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while expanding the franchise into poultry items has been removed after conflicts with its directors.

Executive Transition

Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in charge, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's seeks a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at Domino's for a substantial period, had sought to pivot Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He observed poultry was the fastest-growing food category in the international market.

Board Tensions

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the directors over his approach and business vision, although Domino's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused brand – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the company – and is testing it in 210 outlets in the North West region and the province.

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

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, said: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on selecting the suitable leader to lead the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said sales declined by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In August, it warned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Competitors are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut revealed the shutting of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its outlets entered insolvency.

Health Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has rolled out light items, such as its Thin & Crispy range of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as vegan and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a small has 909 calories.

Interim Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since 2021, and had a background at the betting firm a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to take on the chief executive role permanently.

She said: “We have a number of current expansion and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at speed.”

She added these involved additional efforts on the company's supply chain and new item creation, and its rewards program.

Domino's is also without a full-time finance director until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the beverage producer C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow acts as interim finance chief.