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A head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the United Kingdom might have hit pizza saturation while broadening the company into poultry items has been removed after tensions with its board.

Leadership Transition

Andrew Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for Domino's for over 20 years, had attempted to pivot Britain's largest pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He said poultry was the most rapidly expanding food category in the world.

Board Tensions

It is understood that there was disagreement between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and management style, although the company's official statement said he was leaving “as a joint decision”.

New Brand Launch

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused brand – which Rennie described as a “significant new phase” for the organization – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches next year as planned, it considers chicken products as a supplement for its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

Bull, the company chairman, commented: “We are confident that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the ideal CEO to lead the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

In the latest update, Domino's, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said orders declined by one and a half percent in the Q3. In the summer, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in six-month income.

Competitors are also struggling. Another major chain revealed the closure of multiple locations a month ago, after the business behind its outlets fell into administration.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has introduced lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust range of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and gluten-free pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gambling company a well-known operator. It is believed that she is not seeking to assume the chief executive role on a full-time basis.

She commented: “Our team has a several active growth and efficiency programs that we will be concentrating on executing at a rapid rate.”

Frampton noted these comprised further work on the company's logistics network and product development, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also in need of a long-term chief financial officer until March 16, when Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow acts as interim finance chief.