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A chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached maximum pizza demand while broadening the franchise into chicken products has been ousted after disagreements with its governing body.

Executive Shake-Up

Andrew Rennie is departing after just two years in charge, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who was with the company for more than two decades, had attempted to shift Britain's largest pizza food delivery firm towards poultry-based products, commenting in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He observed chicken was the fastest-growing menu item in the world.

Governance Disagreements

It is understood that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his strategy and direction, although Domino's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

New Product Launch

In the autumn, Domino's launched its poultry offering – which the former chief described as a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is piloting it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in the coming year as planned, it regards fried chicken as a supplement for its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the Domino's chair, stated: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and profitability in our primary operations. We are concentrating on identifying the right chief executive to lead the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said sales dipped by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it warned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it attributed reduced spending in the run-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Competitors are also struggling. Pizza Hut announced the closing of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the firm behind its outlets faced financial collapse.

Wellness Efforts

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards better nutrition, the company has launched lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust line of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and wheat-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gambling company William Hill. It is understood that she prefers not to occupy the top job permanently.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a several current expansion and performance initiatives that we will be focused on executing at a rapid rate.”

She said these involved additional efforts on the organization's supply chain and product development, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also lacking a long-term chief financial officer until March 16, when Andrea joins from the drinks company a well-known firm. In the meantime, Snow acts as temporary CFO.