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The boss of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the United Kingdom might have reached maximum pizza demand while diversifying the chain into poultry items has been ousted after tensions with its governing body.

Executive Shake-Up

Rennie is departing after a brief tenure in charge, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant searches for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who served at the company for over 20 years, had aimed to shift the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, remarking recently there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He observed poultry was the fastest-growing menu item in the international market.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the governance team over his focus and direction, although Domino's release said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Launch

In the autumn, the chain launched its chicken-focused offering – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the group – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

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

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, stated: “We are confident that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and value creation in Domino's core business. We are focused on selecting the right chief executive to oversee the careful implementation of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said transactions declined by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In August, it alerted that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a 15 percent decline in half-year profits.

Competitors are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closing of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Health Initiatives

Adapting to consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has launched light items, such as its light base line of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as vegan and allergy-friendly options. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a individual has 909 calories.

Acting Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is believed that she prefers not to occupy the chief executive role permanently.

She said: “The company has a number of active development and efficiency programs that we will be focused on implementing at a rapid rate.”

She said these included 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 long-term CFO until 16 March, when Andy Andrea comes aboard from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow serves as acting financial officer.