🔗 Share this article

A head of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the UK might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the franchise into fried chicken has been ousted after tensions with its board.

Executive Shake-Up

The former CEO is departing after only 24 months in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a new leader.

Rennie, who was with the company for over 20 years, had attempted to pivot the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, stating in a recent interview there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said poultry was the fastest-growing food category in the international market.

Board Friction

Sources suggest that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his approach and business vision, although the company's announcement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Brand Introduction

In September, Domino's unveiled its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which Rennie referred to as a “significant new phase” for the company – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its almost 1,400 stores in 2026 as planned, it views fried chicken as an addition to its core pizza business.

Leadership Comment

Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are concentrating on selecting the right chief executive to direct the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Market Difficulties

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said sales dipped by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In August, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the government announcement and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a 15 percent decline in half-year profits.

Competitors are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain announced the closing of dozens of outlets a month ago, after the business behind its outlets entered insolvency.

Wellness Efforts

Adapting to customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has rolled out light options, such as its Thin & Crispy range of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and gluten-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has 909 calories.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group a well-known operator. It is thought that she prefers not to take on the chief executive role on a full-time basis.

She commented: “Our team has a several current growth and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on implementing at speed.”

She added these included further work on the company's logistics network and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also in need of a permanent chief financial officer until the spring, when Andy Andrea joins from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.