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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the UK might have hit peak pizza while diversifying the franchise into fried chicken has been replaced after conflicts with its directors.

Leadership Transition

Andrew Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect the UK's leading pizza food delivery firm towards poultry-based products, commenting recently there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He said poultry was the quickest rising food category in the globe.

Board Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his approach and management style, although the company's release said he was stepping down “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Introduction

In September, the chain introduced its poultry offering – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is piloting it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its extensive network next year as scheduled, it considers chicken products as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Comment

Bull, the company chairman, said: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on identifying the ideal CEO to direct the disciplined execution of that expansion plan.”

Industry Challenges

In the latest update, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders fell by one and a half percent in the Q3. In the summer, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut revealed the closing of dozens of outlets a last month, after the business behind its British operations fell into administration.

Wellness Efforts

Adapting to customer preferences towards better nutrition, Domino's has introduced light products, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group a well-known operator. It is believed that she is not seeking to assume the chief executive role long-term.

She said: “We have a number of current expansion and efficiency programs that we will be concentrating on carrying out at pace.”

Frampton noted these comprised further work on the company's logistics network and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also lacking a long-term CFO until the spring, when Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.