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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the company into chicken products has been removed after conflicts with its directors.

Executive Shake-Up

Andrew Rennie is departing after only 24 months in the top role, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who was with the company for over 20 years, had attempted to redirect Britain's biggest pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, stating earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the British pizza industry. He observed chicken was the quickest rising food category in the international market.

Governance Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his focus and management style, although Domino's official statement said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

New Product Launch

In September, the chain launched its poultry offering – which Rennie referred to as a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the North West region and the province.

While the firm is still intending to launch it across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as intended, it regards chicken products as a supplement for its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

Ian Bull, the company chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and profitability in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on finding the right chief executive to lead the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said sales fell by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it attributed reduced spending in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in interim earnings.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut revealed the closing of multiple locations a last month, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Responding to customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched lower-calorie items, such as its Thin & Crispy line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and wheat-free pizzas. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is believed that she is not seeking to occupy the top job on a full-time basis.

She said: “Our team has a number of active expansion and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at speed.”

She added these comprised additional efforts on the company's procurement system and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also in need of a long-term chief financial officer until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. For now, Snow serves as interim finance chief.