🔗 Share this article

The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while diversifying the chain into fried chicken has been replaced after disagreements with its board.

Leadership Change

The former CEO is leaving after just two years in the top role, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at Domino's for over 20 years, had sought to shift the UK's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards fried chicken, commenting recently there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He noted chicken was the quickest rising food category in the world.

Board Friction

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between the CEO and the board over his strategy and direction, although Domino's announcement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Product Introduction

In September, Domino's launched its poultry product line – which Rennie described as a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still planning to expand it across its extensive network next year as intended, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Comment

Bull, the company chair, stated: “The board believes that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and value creation in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing selecting the ideal CEO to lead the careful implementation of that development approach.”

Market Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said orders declined by 1.5% in the Q3. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for below-target performance and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of multiple locations a recently, after the company behind its outlets faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Adapting to customer preferences towards balanced diets, the company has introduced light items, such as its thin-crust line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and allergy-friendly options. A big pepperoni bake has over 2,300 kcal. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since 2021, and was formerly with the gaming group William Hill. It is believed that she is not seeking to assume the chief executive role permanently.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a several active expansion and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to executing at a rapid rate.”

Frampton noted these included additional efforts on the organization's procurement system and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time CFO until March 16, when Andrea joins from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Snow acts as interim finance chief.