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A boss of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the United Kingdom might have reached peak pizza while expanding the franchise into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its board.

Executive Shake-Up

Andrew 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 permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for a substantial period, had sought to shift Britain's largest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He said poultry was the most rapidly expanding protein in the world.

Governance Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was friction between the CEO and the board over his focus and management style, although Domino's announcement said he was stepping down “through mutual consent”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's launched its poultry product line – which the former chief described as a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is piloting it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as planned, it regards fried chicken as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

Bull, the Domino's chair, stated: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the right chief executive to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said orders fell by 1.5% in the Q3. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Competitors are also struggling. Pizza Hut revealed the closure of multiple locations a month ago, after the company behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Wellness Initiatives

Responding to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched lower-calorie products, such as its thin-crust range of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and wheat-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 calories.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and had a background at the gaming group a well-known operator. It is thought that she prefers not to occupy the top job long-term.

She said: “Our team has a number of ongoing expansion and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on implementing at speed.”

Frampton noted these involved ongoing development on the company's logistics network and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also in need of a long-term chief financial officer until March 16, when Andy Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. In the meantime, Snow serves as acting financial officer.