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The boss of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the UK might have hit pizza saturation while expanding the chain into chicken products has been replaced after tensions with its board.

Leadership Shake-Up

Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a new leader.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He said poultry was the quickest rising protein in the globe.

Board Friction

Sources suggest that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his strategy and business vision, although the company's release said he was stepping down “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Launch

In September, Domino's launched its Chick 'N' Dip offering – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is trialling it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its extensive network next year as intended, it regards chicken products as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Board Statement

Ian Bull, the company chairman, stated: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and profitability in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on selecting the suitable leader to oversee the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said transactions dipped by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “intensified” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain revealed the closing of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the firm behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards balanced diets, Domino's has introduced reduced-calorie products, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 calories as well as vegan and wheat-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Acting Management

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

Frampton stated: “Our team has a number of current growth and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to executing at pace.”

She added these included further work on the organization's logistics network and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also lacking a permanent CFO until 16 March, when Andrea comes aboard from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Richard Snow is acting financial officer.