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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the UK might have hit peak pizza while broadening the chain into poultry items has been ousted after tensions with its governing body.

Leadership Change

Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's seeks a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for the company for over 20 years, had aimed to pivot Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, remarking recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He observed chicken was the quickest rising menu item in the international market.

Board Friction

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his focus and business vision, although the company's announcement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Brand Introduction

In September, Domino's launched its poultry offering – which Rennie described as a “bold new chapter” for the group – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as scheduled, it views fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Board Statement

Ian Bull, the company chair, stated: “We are confident that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and value creation in our primary operations. We are focused on finding the suitable leader to direct the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Market Challenges

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said transactions declined by one and a half percent in the Q3. In August, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the budget and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a significant fall in six-month income.

Competitors are also facing challenges. Another major chain announced the shutting of 68 restaurants a month ago, after the company behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Health Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched light options, such as its light base line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as vegan and gluten-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Leadership

The interim chief has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the gaming group a well-known operator. It is believed that she prefers not to take on the top job permanently.

She commented: “We have a number of ongoing development and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to carrying out at pace.”

Frampton noted these comprised ongoing development on the company's logistics network and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a full-time chief financial officer until March 16, when a new appointee starts from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. Until then, Snow is interim finance chief.