Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Morrisons to open 'not hundreds, but thousands' Daily stores

McColl supply partnership with Morrisons Daily
Photo: morrisons.com

Supermarket Morrisons is planning to open "not hundreds, but thousands" of Morrisons Daily stores across the UK despite facing a setback in the supermarkets ranking.

Morrisons currently has 486 stores and is also on track to open its 500th supermarket by 2023.


Morrisons wholesale director Paul Dobson reportedly said recently that the firm plans to open more of its convenience and forecourt sites.

“Ultimately our ambition is to have store numbers in the thousands, not the hundreds, in the future and by adding more high-quality retailers, we will build those numbers,” reports quoted Dobson as saying.

“Across Great Britain, 35 percent 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.”

In May, Morrisons bought convenience store chain McColl’s for £190.1million - saving the firm from administration. McColl's has more than 1,100 outlets across England, Scotland and Wales, employing around 16,000 staff, or roughly 6,000 full-time.

“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.”

Over 200 McColl stores had been converted to Morrison’s Daily stores by July of this year, with the retailer aiming to hit 450 by November. Apart from McColl's stores, Morrisons also runs Martin's newsagents.

Overall, the firm has 755 McColl's stores, 270 called Morrisons Daily, 116 Martin's and eight called RS McColl, the latter all in Scotland. It has Post Office counters in a third of its 1,100 branches.

Dobson’s announcement comes a week after it was reported that trade body Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has begun an investigation into Morrisons acquisition of McColl’s which found potential competition concerns at 35 sites.

More for you

Britvic growth in annual revenue and profits

Strong numbers for Britvic

Britvic, the soft drinks manufacturer set to be acquired by Carlsberg, has posted robust annual results after investment in marketing and product innovation helped it maintain demand for its brands.

Over the year to Sept 30, the company’s pre-tax profits climbed 10.5 per cent to £173.2 million despite a £21.3m hit related to the proposed Carlsberg deal. Britvic stated that its growth was driven by both volume and price-mix, with strong demand for brands such as Pepsi, Tango, Lipton, MiWadi and Ballygowan.

Keep ReadingShow less
Met Police identifies four suspects in Post Office Horizon scandal

Met Police identifies four suspects in Post Office Horizon scandal

The Metropolitan Police has identified two new suspects in its investigation into possible criminal offences as part of the Post Office Horizon scandal. This takes the total number of individuals to four as the force also revealed it believes more suspects will be identified as the inquiry progresses.

Scotland Yard said members of the investigation team met with Sir Alan Bates, the leading Post Office campaigner, and fellow victims to update them on the development.

Keep ReadingShow less
Discover Britain's top hotspots for independent shops

(Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Discover Britain's top hotspots for independent shops

New research by American Express Shop Small reveals the nation’s top 10 hotspots for independent shops, showcasing the small businesses and the valuable role they plan in their local communities.

American Express partnered with retail experts GlobalData to identify the top high streets for independent shops through ranking factors such as the number of independent outlets, variety of business types, and vibrancy of the high street.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Walkable high streets boost economy'
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Getty Images

'Walkable high streets boost economy'

Shoppers who walk and wheel spend more than those arriving by car, states a recent report, demonstrating the significant economic and social benefits of investing in walkable town centres, challenging traditional views on urban accessibility.

The findings published in third edition of "The Pedestrian Pound Report", recently published by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, come at a critical juncture for British high streets, with a record number of retail failures in 2022 and a vacancy rate of nearly one in seven by the end of 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Yvette Cooper

Home secretary Yvette Cooper speaking at the annual conference hosted by the NPCC and APCC on 19 November 2024

Photo: GOV.UK

Home secretary pledges to restore neighbourhood policing

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans to rebuild neighbourhood policing and combat surging shop theft as part of an ambitious programme of reform to policing.

In her first major speech at the annual conference hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on Tuesday, Cooper highlighted four of the key areas for reform: neighbourhood policing, police performance, structures and capabilities, crime prevention.

Keep ReadingShow less