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The boss of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while expanding the franchise into fried chicken has been ousted after conflicts with its directors.

Executive Change

Andrew Rennie is departing after just two years in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for a substantial period, had attempted to redirect the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, remarking earlier this month there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the quickest rising menu item in the international market.

Governance Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his focus and business vision, although Domino's announcement said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's launched its chicken-focused offering – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the North West region and the province.

While the business is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in 2026 as scheduled, it views fried chicken as complementary to its core pizza business.

Board Statement

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are prioritizing finding the ideal CEO to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, 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 cautioned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the budget and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Another major chain disclosed the closing of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards healthier eating, the company has introduced light options, such as its thin-crust selection of bakes below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and gluten-free pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is understood that she prefers not to assume the CEO position long-term.

She commented: “Our team has a number of active expansion and operational projects that we will be focused on executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these included further work on the company's logistics network and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a permanent CFO until the spring, when Andrea starts from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow serves as temporary CFO.