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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have hit pizza saturation while diversifying the franchise into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its board.

Leadership Transition

Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in charge, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's seeks a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who served at Domino's for a substantial period, had attempted to shift Britain's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, stating earlier this month there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted poultry was the fastest-growing food category in the international market.

Board Tensions

Reports indicate that there was tension between Rennie and the directors over his approach and management style, although the company's official statement said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Launch

In the autumn, Domino's launched its chicken-focused product line – which the former chief referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the group – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and the province.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as intended, it considers chicken products as a supplement for its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

Bull, the company chair, commented: “Directors think that there are a range of possibilities to boost expansion and value creation in Domino's core business. We are focused on finding the ideal CEO to oversee the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said transactions dipped by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the takeaway market had “grown more challenging” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closure of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out light products, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as vegan and wheat-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group William Hill. It is believed that she prefers not to assume the top job permanently.

Frampton stated: “We have a number of current growth and operational projects that we will be concentrating on carrying out at pace.”

Frampton noted these involved ongoing development on the organization's supply chain and new item creation, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also in need of a full-time chief financial officer until 16 March, when Andrea starts from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Snow acts as interim finance chief.