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A chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit pizza saturation while expanding the chain into chicken products has been removed after disagreements with its directors.

Leadership Shake-Up

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in leadership, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while the pizza giant searches for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for a substantial period, had sought to shift Britain's largest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He observed chicken was the most rapidly expanding food category in the globe.

Governance Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the directors over his approach and management style, although the company's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Introduction

In September, Domino's unveiled its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the group – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as scheduled, it considers fried chicken as a supplement for its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chair, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and profitability in the main pizza segment. We are prioritizing finding the suitable leader to direct the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Market Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said transactions dipped by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed reduced spending in the lead-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Competitors are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut revealed the closing of dozens of outlets a last month, after the company behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Responding to customer preferences towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust line of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and gluten-free options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has 909 calories.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group William Hill. It is believed that she prefers not to take on the CEO position permanently.

Frampton stated: “We have a several current expansion and operational projects that we will be dedicated to carrying out at a rapid rate.”

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

Domino's is also in need of a permanent CFO until the spring, when a new appointee joins from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. Until then, Snow serves as interim finance chief.