Morrisons confirmed the closure of 145 locations, including 17 Daily Stores and 52 cafes. The majority of the daily convenience shop closures have already taken place, while other cafes, Market Kitchens, pharmacies and florists may close before the end of the year.
Chief Executive of the supermarket, Rami Baitiéh, said: “In most locations, the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option. Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it. But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic. In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafés, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer. Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues. We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.”
