Peak Pizza? Domino's Leader Steps Down After Pivot Towards Fried Chicken.
A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the UK might have hit peak pizza while diversifying the franchise into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its directors.
Executive Change
Andrew Rennie is departing after just two years in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a long-term chief.
Rennie, who was with Domino's for over 20 years, had attempted to shift the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, commenting in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He observed poultry was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the world.
Board Disagreements
It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his focus and business vision, although Domino's release said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.
New Brand Launch
In the autumn, the chain launched its Chick 'N' Dip product line – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the group – and is testing it in over 200 locations in the North West region and Northern Ireland.
While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as scheduled, it views fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.
Leadership Statement
Ian Bull, the company chair, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the right chief executive to lead the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”
Market Difficulties
Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said transactions declined by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the period before the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in six-month income.
Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut disclosed the closure of multiple locations a recently, after the company behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.
Health Efforts
Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards balanced diets, the company has introduced light products, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a small has 909 calories.
Acting Management
Frampton has been with the company since 2021, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is thought that she is not seeking to take on the top job long-term.
She commented: “Our team has a multiple active growth and efficiency programs that we will be dedicated to carrying out at pace.”
Frampton noted these involved further work on the organization's logistics network and new item creation, and its rewards program.
Domino's is also without a permanent finance director until the spring, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow acts as temporary CFO.