Pizza Market Saturation? Domino's Pizza CEO Exits Following Move Towards Chicken.

A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the franchise into fried chicken has been ousted after tensions with its governing body.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for over 20 years, had attempted to pivot Britain's leading pizza food delivery firm towards poultry-based products, commenting recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted poultry was the most rapidly expanding food category in the world.

Governance Tensions

Sources suggest that there was tension between Rennie and the board over his focus and management style, although Domino's announcement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

Recent Brand Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's introduced its poultry brand – which the former chief called a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and the province.

While the company is still planning to expand it across its almost 1,400 stores next year as scheduled, it views chicken products as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chairman, commented: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to drive further growth and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the suitable leader to oversee the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Market Challenges

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders dipped by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it warned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closing of dozens of outlets a recently, after the company behind its outlets fell into administration.

Wellness Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards better nutrition, the company has launched reduced-calorie products, such as its thin-crust line of bakes below 400 calories as well as meat-free and gluten-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gaming group a well-known operator. It is understood that she prefers not to assume the chief executive role on a full-time basis.

Frampton stated: “We have a several ongoing development and operational projects that we will be dedicated to implementing at a rapid rate.”

She said these comprised ongoing development on the company's procurement system and new item creation, and its rewards program.

Domino's is also without a full-time finance director until the spring, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow serves as interim finance chief.