Morrisons may have dropped a place to fifth in the list of top UK supermarkets this week, but that hasn’t derailed its plans to open “thousands” of new Morrisons Daily stores.
Founded in 1899 by William Morrison in Bradford, Morrisons is also on track to open its 500th site across the UK and Channel Islands by 2023. It currently stands on 486 stores, although there are 906 locations in the UK.
Morrisons hit the news earlier this week for other reasons, after reports surfaced that they turned off the 'beeps' on their self-service tills in respect of the Queen who died a few days ago. But a spokesperson denied the claims, saying: "Our checkout beeps are not off, they have just been turned down as our music and tannoy announcements have been switched off in stores.”
Quoted in the Grocery Gazette, Morrisons wholesale director Paul Dobson said they are gearing up to work “towards the next milestone” by the end of next year in opening more of its convenience and forecourt sites. He said: “Ultimately our ambition is to have stores numbers in the thousands, not the hundreds, in the future and by adding more high-quality retailers, we will build those numbers.
“Across Great Britain, 35 per cent of the population are now within a 10-minute drive from a Morrisons Daily, which we think is good progress since starting off in 2017.”
Morrisons bought symbol group retailer McColl’s for £190.1 million in May and convenience director Joseph Sutton said that will only help their wholesale operations. Over 200 McColl stores had been converted to Morrison’s Daily stores by July of this year, with the aim being 450 by November.
Sutton said: “It’s going to create more investment in this channel of the business. It’s going to mean more collateral that our partners can use, like planograms, access to EPoS systems, new supply chain facilities, or bigger buying of concessions, as well as more format development.
“We’re very excited, and we’re so lucky to have bought the McColl’s business, but there’s lots of hard work ahead of us.”
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
Find recommendations for dog owners and more doggy stories on our sister site Teamdogs
