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A boss of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the UK might have reached maximum pizza demand while expanding the company into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its governing body.

Executive Transition

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

Rennie, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had sought to redirect the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, commenting recently there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He observed poultry was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the globe.

Governance Tensions

Reports indicate that there was tension between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and business vision, although the company's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's introduced its Chick 'N' Dip offering – which Rennie described as a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is trialling it in 210 outlets in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as scheduled, it views fried chicken as a supplement for its main pizza offerings.

Board Statement

Ian Bull, the Domino's chairman, stated: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and profitability in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on finding the right chief executive to direct the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said orders fell by 1.5% in the third quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut revealed the closing of 68 restaurants a recently, after the firm behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Responding to consumer trends towards balanced diets, the company has launched reduced-calorie options, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and wheat-free pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a small has 909 calories.

Acting Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since 2021, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is thought that she is not seeking to occupy the CEO position long-term.

She said: “The company has a several current growth and operational projects that we will be focused on executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these included ongoing development on the organization's procurement system and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also lacking a long-term CFO until the spring, when Andrea starts from the beverage producer a well-known firm. Until then, Richard Snow acts as interim finance chief.