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A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have reached maximum pizza demand while broadening the chain into poultry items has been replaced after conflicts with its directors.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is exiting after just two years in charge, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's seeks a new leader.

Rennie, who served at the company for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect Britain's leading pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, stating earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted poultry was the fastest-growing menu item in the globe.

Board Friction

Sources suggest that there was tension between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and management style, although Domino's official statement said he was leaving “as a joint decision”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its chicken-focused offering – which the former chief described as a “bold new chapter” for the group – and is trialling it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as planned, it regards fried chicken as a supplement for its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, commented: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on finding the suitable leader to lead the careful implementation of that expansion plan.”

Industry Challenges

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said orders dipped by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In August, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the budget and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Competitors are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the closing of 68 restaurants a recently, after the firm behind its British operations fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has introduced reduced-calorie items, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 calories as well as meat-free and gluten-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 calories.

Interim Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is understood that she prefers not to assume the CEO position permanently.

Frampton stated: “The company has a number of active expansion and operational projects that we will be dedicated to carrying out at pace.”

She said these comprised ongoing development on the organization's supply chain and product development, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time chief financial officer until March 16, when Andrea starts from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Richard Snow serves as interim finance chief.