🔗 Share this article

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

Executive Change

Andrew Rennie is leaving after just two years in charge, and will be replaced on an acting basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a long-term chief.

Rennie, who worked for Domino's for more than two decades, had attempted to shift the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, stating earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding protein in the globe.

Board Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between the CEO and the governance team over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's release said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Introduction

In September, Domino's introduced its chicken-focused offering – which the former chief referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in the coming year as scheduled, it views chicken products as a supplement for its primary pizza operations.

Board Statement

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chair, stated: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to enhance value and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are focused on finding the suitable leader to oversee the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said transactions declined by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it attributed reduced spending in the lead-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Competitors are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closing of multiple locations a recently, after the business behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with customer preferences towards balanced diets, the company has introduced light options, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as meat-free and gluten-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to assume the chief executive role long-term.

Frampton stated: “We have a multiple active development and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on implementing at a rapid rate.”

She added these involved ongoing development on the company's procurement system and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a permanent CFO until 16 March, when a new appointee joins from the beverage producer a well-known firm. For now, Snow is interim finance chief.