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A head of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have hit maximum pizza demand while expanding the company into fried chicken has been ousted after disagreements with its board.

Executive Change

The former CEO is exiting after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who worked for Domino's for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect the UK's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting recently there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the most rapidly expanding menu item in the world.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was disagreement between the CEO and the governance team over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's release said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's launched its poultry brand – which the former chief described as a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and the province.

While the business is still planning to expand it across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as scheduled, it considers fried chicken as a supplement for its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

Bull, the company chair, commented: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and value creation in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on selecting the right chief executive to lead the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said orders declined by 1.5% in the third quarter. In the summer, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a 15% drop in interim earnings.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain disclosed the closure of dozens of outlets a recently, after the business behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Wellness Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched reduced-calorie products, such as its light base selection of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and wheat-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a individual has 909 calories.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and was formerly with the betting firm a well-known operator. It is believed that she prefers not to occupy the CEO position permanently.

Frampton stated: “We have a number of current development and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on carrying out at a rapid rate.”

She added these included further work on the organization's logistics network and new item creation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also without a full-time chief financial officer until 16 March, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company a well-known firm. In the meantime, Snow acts as interim finance chief.