Morrisons looks closer than ever to selling its 13 Safeway stores in Northern Ireland.
Its annual report, which details when it will convert a significant proportion of its remaining Safeway stores, makes no mention of when or if the Northern Irish stores will be switched over to the Morrisons fascia.
There is no other evidence in the report suggesting that Morrisons has any strategy going forward for Northern Ireland.
The retailer has been criticised for publishing information about its conversion programme. Broker Panmure Gordon blasted the decision as “commercial suicide” as it would give its rivals plenty of time to plan their competitive response. Analyst Philip Dorgan said: “We believe this will ensure continued failure of the programme”.
Mike Dennis, retail analyst with Williams de Broë, argued that the announcement of the programme would not make a great difference as competitors’ store managers were bound to know about a conversion in their area at least four weeks beforehand.
The report also revealed that Sir Ken received a 16% pay rise last year. For the year to January 30, he earned £635,000 compared with £548,000 in 2004. This was despite the company’s first decline in profits following the takeover of Safeway.
Reader Panel: Wholesalers
Its annual report, which details when it will convert a significant proportion of its remaining Safeway stores, makes no mention of when or if the Northern Irish stores will be switched over to the Morrisons fascia.
There is no other evidence in the report suggesting that Morrisons has any strategy going forward for Northern Ireland.
The retailer has been criticised for publishing information about its conversion programme. Broker Panmure Gordon blasted the decision as “commercial suicide” as it would give its rivals plenty of time to plan their competitive response. Analyst Philip Dorgan said: “We believe this will ensure continued failure of the programme”.
Mike Dennis, retail analyst with Williams de Broë, argued that the announcement of the programme would not make a great difference as competitors’ store managers were bound to know about a conversion in their area at least four weeks beforehand.
The report also revealed that Sir Ken received a 16% pay rise last year. For the year to January 30, he earned £635,000 compared with £548,000 in 2004. This was despite the company’s first decline in profits following the takeover of Safeway.
Reader Panel: Wholesalers
No comments yet