🔗 Share this article

A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have hit maximum pizza demand while broadening the company into chicken products has been ousted after disagreements with its directors.

Executive Transition

Andrew Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's seeks a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for over 20 years, had attempted to redirect the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, remarking recently there was not “massive growth” left in the British pizza industry. He observed poultry was the most rapidly expanding protein in the world.

Board Friction

Reports indicate that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his focus and direction, although Domino's announcement said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its chicken-focused offering – which Rennie called a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and the province.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as planned, it considers chicken products as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

Ian Bull, the Domino's chairman, said: “Directors think that there are a range of possibilities to drive further growth and value creation in our primary operations. We are focused on identifying the right chief executive to oversee the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said orders fell by 1.5% in the Q3. In the summer, it warned that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the shutting of 68 restaurants a last month, after the company behind its outlets faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards better nutrition, Domino's has launched light items, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 calories as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has 909 calories.

Interim Leadership

Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gambling company a well-known operator. It is understood that she does not want to occupy the chief executive role long-term.

She commented: “We have a number of ongoing expansion and operational projects that we will be dedicated to executing at speed.”

She added these comprised ongoing development on the organization's procurement system and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also lacking a permanent CFO until 16 March, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.