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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who indicated the UK might have reached peak pizza while diversifying the franchise into chicken products has been replaced after disagreements with its board.

Leadership Shake-Up

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in charge, and will be replaced on an acting basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's seeks a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for over 20 years, had attempted to shift Britain's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards chicken offerings, remarking recently there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding protein in the international market.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was disagreement between the CEO and the governance team over his approach and business vision, although Domino's official statement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

Recent Brand Introduction

In September, the chain introduced its chicken-focused brand – which the former chief referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and the province.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in the coming year as intended, it views chicken products as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and profitability in our primary operations. We are prioritizing identifying the ideal CEO to direct the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders declined by one and a half percent in the latest quarter. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the period before the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for below-target performance and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Another major chain revealed the closing of multiple locations a recently, after the firm behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Initiatives

Trying to keep up with customer preferences towards better nutrition, Domino's has launched lower-calorie options, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as meat-free and gluten-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for 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.

Frampton stated: “We have a number of active development and efficiency programs that we will be focused on implementing at pace.”

She added these comprised additional efforts on the organization's procurement system and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also in need of a full-time finance director until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the beverage producer C&C Group. In the meantime, Snow is acting financial officer.