Fast-growing independent retailer Amacor is adding five more Morrisons Daily stores to its convenience store estate.
The stores are among the 28 Morrisons agreed to sell last year in order to gain approval from the Competition & Markets Authority for its £190m rescue deal for McColl’s Retail Group.
Three of the sites, located in Bolton, Lymm and Congleton, were already trading under the Morrisons Daily format while the other two, in Alderley Edge and Winsford, were McColl’s stores.
Amacor MD Martin Corban told The Grocer it was refreshing each site with a new fascia, flooring, fridges and lighting as part of the franchise agreement with the supermarket. All five stores would be trading as Morrisons Daily by 4 September, it added.
Amacor purchased the sites via an auction after the CMA accepted Morrisons’ proposal for a store sell-off in order to address concerns that the McColl’s deal could lead to a significant reduction of competition.
“We are always looking to grow our estate and we were able to purchase five stores that sat nicely within our geography in the north,” Corban said.
The retailer currently trades with Nisa as its main supplier. However, it had already begun trials with Morrisons by converting three of its stores, in Newton-le-Willows, Bradford and Blackpool, to the supermarket’s Daily fascia earlier this year.
“We want to continue our programme of integrating Morrisons as a new wholesaler to Amacor, while we actively compare the data to what we attain with Nisa,” Corban added.
“We still have a very good rapport with Nisa and are just exploring options that were not available before Morrisons entered the indie sector.”
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