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

Executive Change

The former CEO is departing after only 24 months in leadership, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for Domino's for more than two decades, had sought to redirect Britain's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards chicken offerings, remarking earlier this month there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the quickest rising protein in the world.

Governance Disagreements

It is understood that there was tension between the CEO and the governance team over his focus and business vision, although Domino's official statement said he was departing “as a joint decision”.

New Brand Launch

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused product line – which the former chief described as a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its extensive network in the coming year as planned, it views fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Board Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chair, stated: “We are confident that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and value creation in our primary operations. We are concentrating on identifying the right chief executive to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Market Difficulties

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said sales dipped by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In August, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain disclosed the closure of multiple locations a month ago, after the business behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Health Efforts

Responding to consumer trends towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out light items, such as its thin-crust range of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and wheat-free options. A big pepperoni bake has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group a well-known operator. It is understood that she does not want to take on the CEO position permanently.

She commented: “The company has a several active development and efficiency programs that we will be concentrating on executing at pace.”

She added these included additional efforts on the company's logistics network and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also in need of a long-term finance director until the spring, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Snow serves as interim finance chief.