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The boss of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while diversifying the chain into poultry items has been removed after disagreements with its board.

Executive Shake-Up

Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant searches for a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who served at Domino's for more than two decades, had attempted to pivot Britain's largest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He observed poultry was the fastest-growing food category in the globe.

Board Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was friction between the CEO and the governance team over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's official statement said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

New Brand Launch

In September, Domino's introduced its poultry brand – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is piloting it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the business is still intending to launch it across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as scheduled, it views chicken products as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chairman, commented: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing finding the ideal CEO to direct the disciplined execution of that expansion plan.”

Market Difficulties

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said orders dipped by one and a half percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it warned that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it blamed reduced spending in the period before the budget and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain announced the shutting of dozens of outlets a recently, after the company behind its British operations fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has rolled out reduced-calorie products, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and allergy-friendly pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 calories.

Interim Management

Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she is not seeking to occupy the CEO position on a full-time basis.

She commented: “The company has a number of active growth and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at a rapid rate.”

She added these included additional efforts on the organization's supply chain and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also without a permanent finance director until the spring, when Andrea starts from the beverage producer C&C Group. For now, Snow serves as temporary CFO.