Morrisons is planning to shut about 100 lossmaking convenience stores as the supermarket faces cost pressures it says have been worsened by “Government policy”. The supermarket chain has confirmed the closure of two stores in Blackpool: the one on Central Drive shut on July 12, followed by another on Lytham Road.
Continuous review of stores
A Morrisons spokesperson told the Blackpool Gazette: “The performance of all company owned stores across our Convenience business is subject to continuous review. This process has identified a number of stores, which were part of the McColl’s acquisition, whose performance has been challenged for a number of years and which are loss making, despite remedial action.”
“Having completed the review, we are now proposing to take the tough but necessary decision to close a number of these stores over the next few months.” In May, Morrisons said the proposals would see stores closed over the following months and hundreds of shop workers were understood to be at risk of redundancy.
Government policy blamed
The particular government policy choices that the supermarket claimed had worsened cost pressures were not detailed, but the announcement comes at a time when many retailers have faced rising business costs, including higher minimum wages and last year’s national insurance rate hike. The spokesperson added: “This situation has been exacerbated in more recent years by significant cost increases resulting from Government policy choices, which have made returning these stores to profitability even more difficult.”
Morrisons has around 1,700 convenience shops as well as about 500 supermarkets, and employs some 95,000 staff. Alongside the fresh closure plans, Morrisons stressed that it was still spotting opportunities to open hundreds more franchise convenience stores in the years ahead. It also insisted that the planned closures and the targeting of new shops will be “improving the quality of our convenience estate and making it stronger overall”.
Recently, the retailer has also shut some of its cafes, convenience stores, florists, and fresh food counters as part of a shake-up which led to the loss of hundreds of jobs. The Mirror has contacted Morrisons for comment.
