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A head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the UK might have hit maximum pizza demand while expanding the chain into chicken products has been ousted after tensions with its board.

Executive Transition

Rennie is departing after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the company's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a new leader.

Rennie, who served at Domino's for more than two decades, had sought to shift Britain's largest pizza food delivery firm towards fried chicken, stating in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the fastest-growing menu item in the world.

Governance Friction

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

New Product Introduction

In September, the chain introduced its poultry offering – which Rennie referred to as a “significant new phase” for the group – and is piloting it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its extensive network in 2026 as scheduled, it views chicken products as a supplement for its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the company chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and profitability in Domino's core business. We are focused on finding the ideal CEO to direct the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said orders declined by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In August, it alerted that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the period before the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Another major chain revealed the closing of 68 restaurants a last month, after the business behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Wellness Efforts

Adapting to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has introduced light options, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the gambling company William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to take on the chief executive role long-term.

She said: “Our team has a number of ongoing growth and operational projects that we will be dedicated to executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these involved additional efforts on the organization's procurement system and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also lacking a permanent finance director until 16 March, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company a well-known firm. In the meantime, Snow is interim finance chief.