Peak Pizza? Domino's Chief Executive Steps Down After Shift Into Chicken.
A chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while broadening the chain into fried chicken has been replaced after conflicts with its directors.
Executive Shake-Up
Andrew Rennie is exiting after just two years in leadership, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.
The outgoing executive, who was with Domino's for more than two decades, had attempted to redirect the UK's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, stating in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the quickest rising food category in the globe.
Board Friction
Sources suggest that there was tension between Rennie and the governance team over his focus and business vision, although the company's announcement said he was leaving “as a joint decision”.
Recent Product Introduction
In September, the chain introduced its poultry brand – which the former chief described as a “significant new phase” for the group – and is trialling it in 210 outlets in the North West region and the province.
While the business is still planning to expand it across its almost 1,400 stores in 2026 as planned, it considers fried chicken as a supplement for its primary pizza operations.
Board Comment
The Domino's chair, the company chairman, stated: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to enhance value and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the suitable leader to direct the careful implementation of that development approach.”
Market Difficulties
Earlier this month, Domino's, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said sales fell by one and a half percent in the third quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in half-year profits.
Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut revealed the closing of dozens of outlets a last month, after the firm behind its UK venues fell into administration.
Health Initiatives
Responding to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched light options, such as its thin-crust line of bakes below 400 calories as well as plant-based and gluten-free options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.
Acting Leadership
Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the betting firm William Hill. It is understood that she is not seeking to occupy the top job permanently.
She said: “Our team has a number of current growth and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on implementing at speed.”
She added these comprised further work on the company's procurement system and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.
Domino's is also lacking a long-term CFO until the spring, when Andrea joins from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow acts as interim finance chief.