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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the UK might have hit peak pizza while diversifying the chain into fried chicken has been removed after tensions with its board.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had attempted to pivot Britain's leading pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, remarking in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said poultry was the quickest rising food category in the world.

Board Tensions

It is understood that there was disagreement between Rennie and the governance team over his focus and direction, although Domino's official statement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Launch

In the autumn, Domino's introduced its poultry brand – which Rennie described as a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is trialling 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 planned, it views chicken products as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chairman, said: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are focused on identifying the ideal CEO to lead the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said transactions fell by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it warned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Competitors are also facing challenges. Another major chain announced the closing of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the business behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards healthier eating, the company has launched reduced-calorie items, such as its thin-crust selection of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and gluten-free pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a small has 909 kcal.

Acting Management

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is understood that she does not want to assume the top job on a full-time basis.

She said: “Our team has a several active growth and efficiency programs that we will be concentrating on executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these included further work on the company's procurement system and menu innovation, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also lacking a full-time CFO until March 16, when Andy Andrea starts from the beverage producer C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow serves as temporary CFO.