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The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached peak pizza while diversifying the chain into chicken products has been ousted after conflicts with its board.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is exiting after only 24 months in leadership, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a new leader.

Rennie, who was with Domino's for a substantial period, had attempted to shift Britain's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards chicken offerings, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He observed poultry was the quickest rising protein in the international market.

Board Tensions

Sources suggest that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and management style, although Domino's release said he was leaving “as a joint decision”.

Recent Product Introduction

In the autumn, the chain introduced its poultry product line – which the former chief referred to as a “significant new phase” for the group – and is piloting it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

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

Board Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chairman, commented: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the suitable leader to lead the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said orders dipped by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In August, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it attributed reduced spending in the run-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in half-year profits.

Competitors are also facing challenges. Another major chain announced the shutting of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its British operations fell into administration.

Health Initiatives

Responding to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has introduced reduced-calorie options, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and gluten-free pizzas. A family-sized pepperoni has over 2,300 kcal. A family cheese pizza has over 2,100, while a small has 909 calories.

Interim Management

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the betting firm a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to occupy the top job permanently.

She said: “Our team has a multiple ongoing expansion and operational projects that we will be concentrating on implementing at speed.”

She said these included further work on the organization's procurement system and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also without a permanent finance director until 16 March, when Andrea starts from the beverage producer a well-known firm. In the meantime, Snow serves as interim finance chief.