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The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the chain into chicken products has been removed after tensions with its governing body.

Executive Shake-Up

Andrew Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in the top role, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a new leader.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect the UK's leading pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, commenting earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the globe.

Governance Tensions

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his approach and direction, although Domino's announcement said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

New Product Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which Rennie called a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is trialling it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as intended, it considers fried chicken as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

Bull, the Domino's chairman, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and profitability in our primary operations. We are concentrating on identifying the suitable leader to direct the careful implementation of that development approach.”

Market Difficulties

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said sales fell by 1.5% in the third quarter. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it blamed reduced spending in the lead-up to the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Pizza Hut announced the closing of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Wellness Initiatives

Adapting to market shifts towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out lower-calorie products, such as its light base selection of pizzas below 400 calories as well as vegan and gluten-free options. A big pepperoni bake has over 2,300 kcal. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group a well-known operator. It is understood that she is not seeking to assume the top job permanently.

She said: “The company has a multiple active expansion and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on executing at speed.”

She said these comprised additional efforts on the company's procurement system and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also in need of a full-time finance director until the spring, when Andrea starts from the beverage producer C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow serves as temporary CFO.