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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while broadening the franchise into chicken products has been removed after tensions with its governing body.

Leadership Change

Rennie is departing after only 24 months in the top role, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who was with Domino's for over 20 years, had aimed to redirect Britain's biggest pizza delivery company towards fried chicken, commenting earlier this month there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He said chicken was the fastest-growing protein in the international market.

Board Tensions

It is understood that there was tension between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's release said he was departing “as a joint decision”.

Recent Product Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which Rennie described as a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is piloting it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as intended, it considers chicken products as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, commented: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and performance improvement in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on selecting the right chief executive to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Industry Challenges

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said transactions declined by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In the summer, it alerted that the quick-service industry had “become tougher” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the closing of 68 restaurants a month ago, after the company behind its outlets faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Adapting to consumer trends towards better nutrition, the company has rolled out light products, such as its light base selection of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and gluten-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a individual has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group a well-known operator. It is understood that she prefers not to take on the top job permanently.

She commented: “The company has a number of active growth and operational projects that we will be dedicated to implementing at speed.”

Frampton noted these comprised further work on the company's procurement system and product development, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also in need of a permanent chief financial officer until March 16, when Andrea comes aboard from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow acts as temporary CFO.