Giant Shops Shutting: Morrisons Restructuring, As It Closes Retailers
One of Britain’s largest supermarket chains, Morrisons, is to close more than 100 stores as part of a radical restructure. The closures will impact a blend of outlets, including convenience stores under the name “Morrisons Daily,” in-store cafés, hot food counters, florists, pharmacies and meat and fish counters.
The supermarket’s chief executive, Rami Baitieh said the closures are “an important step in our plan to focus in capital and resources on those assets that can provide a real long term growth.” The shutterings are part of a larger strategy to streamline the business, cut expenses and align resources for the chain to prevail in what has become an increasingly difficult retail climate.
In particular the plan involves shutting 17 Morrisons Daily stores, 51 cafés, 18 hot food counters in its supermarkets, 13 florists, four pharmacies and a further 35 meat counters and 35 fish counters. Some workers will be given new roles within the business, however others will not and there is an element of redundancy involved as part of reshuffle.
Strategic Transformation in the UK Supermarket Sector
The move comes amid higher operating costs, rising wage and business rates bills all squeezing supermarket margins across the UK. A number of outlets affected have poor trading performance and are located in areas where footfall has been reducing for several years.
Morrisons focuses on a relatively small proportion of its overall estate, but the closures are in line with an interest in digital and working to improve prices and service for customers. Analysts say the revamp is part of a broader effort by other leading UK supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury’s, both of which are also scaling back non-core businesses including in-store cafés and fresh food counters.
Geographically the shutdowns cover stores all over the country such as Aberdeenshire, West Lothian, greater London, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Buckinghamshire, with Leeds, Glasgow Portsmouth and London hit by multiple store closures.
Outside of savings, Morrisons has an opportunity to collaborate with third-party brands in order to continue offering some in-store convenience for customers, capturing customer touchpoints that would otherwise be redirected by outsourcing these operations. The reorganization is part of a plan to build a leaner, more digitally savvy business that can marshal funds into online shopping, competitive pricing and store makeovers to survive UK cost-of-living pressures.
In conclusion, Morrisons’ closure of more than 100 stores is a brave response to the changing face of the High Street. Through profitable formats, digital growth and new partnerships, the supermarket is committed to being focused on building a strong business in the UK.
