🔗 Share this article

The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have hit maximum pizza demand while broadening the franchise into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its directors.

Executive Transition

Andrew Rennie is departing after just two years in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for more than two decades, had aimed to pivot the UK's largest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, remarking in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted chicken was the most rapidly expanding protein in the globe.

Board Tensions

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his approach and direction, although the company's official statement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Product Launch

In the autumn, the chain launched its poultry product line – which the former chief described as a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is piloting it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as planned, it regards fried chicken as complementary to its core pizza business.

Leadership Comment

Ian Bull, the company chair, commented: “We are confident that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and value creation in our primary operations. We are focused on identifying the ideal CEO to oversee the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said sales dipped by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the quick-service industry had “become tougher” 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 facing challenges. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of dozens of outlets a recently, after the company behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Wellness Efforts

Adapting to customer preferences towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out reduced-calorie products, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and wheat-free pizzas. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and had a background at the gaming group William Hill. It is understood that she does not want to occupy the CEO position long-term.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a several active development and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to implementing at pace.”

She said these included ongoing development on the organization's supply chain and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also in need of a long-term chief financial officer until March 16, when Andrea joins from the drinks company a well-known firm. For now, Richard Snow is interim finance chief.