🔗 Share this article

A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the franchise into fried chicken has been replaced after tensions with its board.

Leadership Shake-Up

Andrew Rennie is exiting after only 24 months in the top role, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at Domino's for a substantial period, had attempted to pivot Britain's largest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, stating earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the international market.

Governance Disagreements

It is understood that there was disagreement between Rennie and the board over his focus and business vision, although Domino's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

New Product Launch

In September, Domino's introduced its Chick 'N' Dip product line – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the company – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as scheduled, it considers chicken products as complementary to its core pizza business.

Board Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, commented: “We are confident that there are a series of prospects to drive further growth and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the suitable leader to direct the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said transactions dipped by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the budget and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also facing challenges. Another major chain revealed the shutting of 68 restaurants a last month, after the firm behind its British operations fell into administration.

Wellness Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards better nutrition, the company has introduced lower-calorie products, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group William Hill. It is believed that she prefers not to occupy the CEO position on a full-time basis.

She said: “Our team has a number of current development and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to carrying out at a rapid rate.”

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

The pizza chain is also without a permanent CFO until the spring, when a new appointee starts from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow is temporary CFO.