JAS84 wrote:WillPS wrote:rdobbie wrote:Oh balls, I just did a load of internet surfing to compile a list of the histories of the 11 stores listed above, then lost it all through user error.
Anyway, it was an interesting mixed bag ranging from the very old to the very new; roughly a 4-way split between stores that were previously Safeway, Netto, Somerfield (one a former Kwik Save) and purpose-built Morrisons.
The latter were the most surprising, as they both opened in 2011 (Salford and West Bromwich).
Incidentally, I've never come across a single case of a purpose-built "classic" Morrisons having reopened as something else. Does anyone know of such an example? When the Competition Commission ordered Morrisons to sell X number of stores in 2004, did Morrisons only get rid of former Safeway properties? I'd be interested to see how another brand dealt with a refit of an original Morrisons, given the stylised architecture and layout.
I thought all the ex-Netto branches had closed back in March? Which ones remain, and will that be all of them?
Seems that what Morrisons used to refer to as "Rump" stores (where the full 'market street' as was couldn't be achieved) are the ones which are going?
I knew something was up! Morrisons claimed that the Bransholme branch in Hull (a former Netto) was not making money. But it was VERY popular and a petition was even done to try and save it. So they only closed it because it was so small, and not because of lack of sales at all?
I'm not sure how you've deduced that. It'll *definitely* be a financial thing.
My understanding is that Dansk retained the Netto stores which did not reopen as Asda Supermarkets. Initially they were let to Ugo (since failed), Morrisons (pulled out of these stores) and a few went to Co-op. It's quite telling that despite these stores being the ideal size for Aldi/Lidl, with both chains looking to expand wherever they can, neither did so.
One possibility is that Dansk were unwilling to trade with them, but since they were (at that time) withdrawing from the UK that seems unlikely.
Another possibility is that Dansk set the rents at an unsustainably high level, the letting of which would be consistent with Morrisons' desperation to develop a convenience store format of some kind.
Wrongly, in my view, Sir Ken Morrison and the Morrisons board made the decision in 2004 that the only format the business would deal with was
the Morrisons format. The upshot of that is that people have a clear expectation of what a Morrisons store offers (e.g. all the Market Street guff). The problem that causes is that now the amount of land and capital available to build large supermarkets has gone, they are left with no easy route of expanding. Forgive me for speculating further - but it would appear to me that the ex-Netto and other small stores were a gamble (high rents and no proven format) which has failed.
By comparison, Tesco manage expectations by having 5 clear customer-facing propositions - one|stop, Tesco Express, Tesco Metro, Tesco, Tesco Extra. Customers intuitively understand broadly what each fascia offers. Morrisons could have achieved something similar by retaining the Safeway brand (and all the stores, which were then more profitable than they have been since!). This shortsightedness has lead in no small part to the check-mate situation Morrisons now finds itself in.
