Blackfriar: The many options facing the new man at Morrisons

In City terms it's the second most keenly awaited FTSE 100 briefing after Marc Bolland's plans for Marks & Spencer. Bolland, the former Morrisons' boss, is due to reveal his plans for M&S in November.

So what is Philips, a highly respected retail veteran, likely to decide?

Well the first expectation is that rather like his predecessor, Philips is in no hurry to implement change for change's sake.

With Morrisons expected to outperform its peers for the rest of this year and next, it would be a dangerous move to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Philips has several choices.

The first is to launch a loyalty card, but this isn't in the Morrisons spirit. Morrisons thrives on special promotions.

Its shoppers demand low prices at the check-out rather than future benefits.

Analyst Dave McCarthy at Evolution believes an online offer with a 'Click and Collect' trial is the most obvious option and there are rumours that Philips will announce internet trials in several stores later this morning.

But the problem with online is that Morrisons needs to get shoppers instore sampling the products for themselves and experiencing the Market Street concept, which is unique to Morrisons. An online offer could be counter-productive.

Another option is to take the Morrisons concept abroad, yet that is about as likely as Sir Ken Morrison retiring quietly.

Morrisons has had a tough enough time bringing its Yorkshire concept to the South, let alone Continental Europe.

As chairman Sir Ian Gibson has said, he'd rather the group got as far as Chelmsford than going abroad.

Here lies the nub. With seven million UK households outside the catchment of a Morrisons store, there is plenty of room for expansion.

The group has an ambitious expansion programme with 60 new stores scheduled to open across the UK over the next three years.

Another possibility is to extend the move into smaller stores – not convenience as such, but a Morrisons concept that includes Market Street and can take on rivals Tesco, Sainsbury's and M&S in the smaller store format.

Analysts believe that an expansion into non-food is more than likely.

One option is a nationwide roll-out of budget fashion retailer Peacocks as concessions within Morrisons stores.

Peacocks opened its first concession shop in Morrisons' Idle store in Bradford in July.

Morrisons insists the concession was an "individual opportunity" made possible by the refurbishment of the Idle store, but analysts believe Morrisons will roll it out across the country if it proves successful.

Peacocks could help Morrisons win customers who are attracted to the store by a recognised high street clothing brand.

Morrisons' arch rival, Leeds-based Asda, has seen sales soar at its George clothing range. Asda's highly regarded budget clothing offer is seen as a major draw for shoppers who might shop elsewhere if it didn't exist.

At the same time, Tesco and Sainsbury's are seeing huge growth from their clothing ranges.

Analysts believe that Morrisons' link-up with Peacocks could be a smart move as it is a well-known high street brand which has successfully brought itself up to date by introducing new lines such as the Pearl Lowe range designed exclusively for Peacocks and modelled by daughter Daisy Lowe.

An attempt to build a new brand from scratch would have been a lot riskier.

Assuming the Idle store is successful, the roll out of Peacocks concessions looks like a sensible first move for Philips to make.