Morrisons group commercial director Andy Atkinson is to leave the retailer under a management shake-up by CEO David Potts.
The move will see chief operating officer Trevor Strain take direct control over the Morrisons commercial team, having previously served in the role given to Atkinson in January 2020. The role of group commercial director is being removed.
It comes with Potts having sent a note to staff this week saying he has been reviewing the business to make it more competitive amid fierce trading conditions because of the cost of living crisis.
Atkinson has been with Morrisons for more than 10 years, having previously served as trading director and own brand and sourcing director, before becoming group marketing and customer director in 2015.
He also had over a decade of commercial and marketing experience in retail and fmcg, latterly at Boots.
The Grocer understands he was offered other roles in the business but declined.
Strain, who has been widely tipped as a potential successor to Potts, has a reputation as a canny commercial operator.
Morrisons, which reported a 6% year-on-year fall in sales in April, has been fighting to gain competitiveness against the discounters and its mainstream rivals, launching a price-cut campaign which saw more than 500 products reduced across 6% of total volume sales.
However, the results of this month’s GCA survey showed deteriorating relationships with suppliers, with the retailer coming second from bottom in the table for compliance.
Earlier this month Potts declared it was “time to get on and tackle the cost of living crisis” after competition bosses finally cleared the £7bn takeover of the company by Clayton Dubilier & Rice after an investigation lasting nearly six months.
In a note to staff about the new shake-up, Potts said: “Andy leaves with our very best wishes. I’d like to thank him for his important contribution to the company over more than 10 years, particularly in both his customer and marketing and commercial roles.”
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