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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit maximum pizza demand while broadening the franchise into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its governing body.

Executive Change

Andrew Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in the top role, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant searches for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for over 20 years, had attempted to redirect Britain's largest pizza delivery company towards fried chicken, commenting earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the UK's pizza market. He noted poultry was the quickest rising protein in the world.

Board Friction

Sources suggest that there was friction between the CEO and the governance team over his strategy and business vision, although the company's release said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Introduction

In September, the chain launched its Chick 'N' Dip offering – which Rennie described as a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as scheduled, it regards fried chicken as complementary to its core pizza business.

Leadership Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and performance improvement in Domino's core business. We are focused on finding the right chief executive to oversee the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Market Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said transactions declined by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Competitors are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut announced the closing of 68 restaurants a recently, after the business behind its British operations entered insolvency.

Health Efforts

Responding to consumer trends towards healthier eating, the company has launched lower-calorie products, such as its Thin & Crispy range of bakes below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gambling company William Hill. It is believed that she prefers not to assume the CEO position on a full-time basis.

She commented: “Our team has a number of ongoing development and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to implementing at speed.”

She added these included further work on the organization's procurement system and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also in need of a permanent chief financial officer until March 16, when Andrea starts from the drinks company a well-known firm. For now, Snow is acting financial officer.