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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the UK might have hit maximum pizza demand while broadening the franchise into fried chicken has been removed after tensions with its governing body.

Executive Transition

Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in charge, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who worked for the company for a substantial period, had attempted to redirect the UK's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards poultry-based products, commenting earlier this month there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the quickest rising protein in the world.

Governance Disagreements

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

New Brand Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's launched its chicken-focused brand – which the former chief called a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its extensive network next year as intended, it views fried chicken as an addition to its core pizza business.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, said: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to enhance value and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are focused on finding the right chief executive to lead the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said orders fell by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In the summer, it warned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain revealed the shutting of multiple locations a recently, after the business behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Wellness Efforts

Trying to keep up with market shifts towards healthier eating, the company has introduced reduced-calorie options, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 calories as well as meat-free and allergy-friendly pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and had a background at the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to take on the CEO position permanently.

Frampton stated: “We have a number of ongoing growth and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at a rapid rate.”

She said these included further work on the organization's procurement system and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a permanent finance director until 16 March, when Andrea starts from the drinks company a well-known firm. Until then, Snow acts as acting financial officer.