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A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have hit peak pizza while expanding the company into poultry items has been removed after disagreements with its governing body.

Leadership Shake-Up

The former CEO is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for more than two decades, had sought to pivot the UK's largest pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, stating in a recent interview there was not “massive growth” left in the UK's pizza market. He said poultry was the quickest rising food category in the globe.

Board Disagreements

It is understood that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his strategy and direction, although the company's release said he was departing “as a joint decision”.

Recent Brand Launch

In September, Domino's introduced its poultry brand – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the group – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

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

Leadership Statement

Bull, the Domino's chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on selecting the right chief executive to lead the disciplined execution of that expansion plan.”

Market Difficulties

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said sales fell by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the budget and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Pizza Hut revealed the closure of dozens of outlets a last month, after the business behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Health Efforts

Adapting to market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has launched light options, such as its light base range of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as vegan and gluten-free pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Management

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gaming group a well-known operator. It is understood that she is not seeking to occupy the chief executive role long-term.

She commented: “The company has a number of current growth and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to executing at a rapid rate.”

Frampton noted these comprised additional efforts on the company's procurement system and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a permanent CFO until the spring, when a new appointee comes aboard from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Snow serves as temporary CFO.