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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have reached maximum pizza demand while diversifying the company into chicken products has been removed after disagreements with its directors.

Leadership Transition

Andrew Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at Domino's for over 20 years, had attempted to pivot Britain's largest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, commenting in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said poultry was the quickest rising menu item in the world.

Board Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was tension between Rennie and the governance team over his focus and business vision, although the company's official statement said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In September, Domino's launched its Chick 'N' Dip brand – which Rennie referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the North West region and the province.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its extensive network next year as planned, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the company chairman, commented: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to drive further growth and profitability in our primary operations. We are prioritizing finding the suitable leader to lead the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said transactions fell by 1.5% in the Q3. In the summer, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a significant fall in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain disclosed the closure of 68 restaurants a month ago, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Wellness Efforts

Responding to customer preferences towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust range of bakes below 400 kcals as well as meat-free and gluten-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and was formerly with the gaming group a well-known operator. It is thought that she is not seeking to assume the CEO position long-term.

Frampton stated: “We have a several current development and performance initiatives that we will be focused on implementing at pace.”

Frampton noted these included ongoing development on the company's procurement system and product development, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also without a long-term finance director until the spring, when Andrea comes aboard from the drinks company a well-known firm. In the meantime, Snow serves as temporary CFO.