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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the UK might have reached pizza saturation while expanding the chain into fried chicken has been removed after conflicts with its directors.

Executive Change

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in charge, and will be replaced on an acting basis by the company's operations head, Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, commenting in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He said chicken was the fastest-growing menu item in the world.

Governance Friction

Reports indicate that there was friction between the CEO and the directors over his approach and business vision, although the company's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Introduction

In September, Domino's launched its chicken-focused offering – which Rennie referred to as a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and the province.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its extensive network in the coming year as intended, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

Bull, the Domino's chair, stated: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and profitability in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the suitable leader to direct the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Market Challenges

Earlier this month, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said transactions fell by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed reduced spending in the period before the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Competitors are also struggling. Another major chain revealed the closing of multiple locations a recently, after the business behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Wellness Efforts

Trying to keep up with market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has launched light items, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 calories as well as vegan and gluten-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a individual has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Leadership

Nicola Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the betting firm a well-known operator. It is understood that she is not seeking to take on the top job long-term.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a number of ongoing expansion and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to executing at speed.”

Frampton noted these involved further work on the company's supply chain and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also without a permanent finance director until March 16, when a new appointee comes aboard from the beverage producer C&C Group. For now, Snow is temporary CFO.