Pizza Market Saturation? Domino's CEO Steps Down After Move Towards Fried Chicken.

A chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have reached maximum pizza demand while expanding the chain into chicken products has been replaced after disagreements with its directors.

Leadership Shake-Up

Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who served at Domino's for a substantial period, had aimed to pivot Britain's leading pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, stating in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted chicken was the quickest rising protein in the globe.

Governance Tensions

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between the CEO and the directors over his approach and direction, although the company's release said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Launch

In September, Domino's launched its poultry offering – which the former chief called a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is trialling it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and the province.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as scheduled, it regards fried chicken as an addition to its core pizza business.

Leadership Comment

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chair, said: “We are confident that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the right chief executive to oversee the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Industry Difficulties

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said orders declined by one and a half percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the budget and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Pizza Hut announced the closing of multiple locations a last month, after the firm behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Wellness Initiatives

Responding to market shifts towards better nutrition, Domino's has launched reduced-calorie options, such as its Thin & Crispy line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and wheat-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 kcals. A big margherita has 2,171, while a small has 909 kcal.

Interim Leadership

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 thought that she does not want to occupy the chief executive role on a full-time basis.

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

Frampton noted these included additional efforts on the company's supply chain and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also without a full-time CFO until 16 March, when a new appointee comes aboard from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow acts as temporary CFO.