Morrisons celebrates turning 125 with month of celebration for customers
Morrisons is celebrating 125 years since its founder, William Morrison, first started the business with a month-long campaign that includes a new television advert, £1m being distributed to 125 charities and loyalty rewards for customers in store and online.
A new advert launched to celebrate the milestone anniversary will air today.
It aims to spark feelings of nostalgia in viewers as it is centred around an interaction between Morrisons colleagues and customers and is played out over the last 125 years.
Morrisons first opened in 1899 as a market stall selling butter and eggs in Rawson Market, Bradford, and this is where the new advert begins before jumping through time to capture the fashion, hairstyle and food choice trends of each era.
Rami Baitiéh, Morrisons chief executive, said: “For 125 years, since William Morrisons founded our company, customers have been enjoying our great quality British food.
"A lot has evolved during that time and we have gone from a single market stall to having our famous Market Street counters with skilled colleagues such as our butchers, fishmongers, and bakers in our stores nationwide.
"One thing that has remained constant throughout is our commitment to offering great tasting affordable food for everyone.
"We look forward to celebrating this milestone moment, and the legacy of William Morrisons and Sir Ken, with our customers over the coming weeks.”
The supermarket said that community spirit has continued to be at the heart of the Morrisons business and today, the Morrisons Foundation has launched a new million-pound charitable fund that intends to enhance community spaces across the UK by distributing grants between 125 charities chosen by colleagues.
Improvements will be carried out at any place or space used by members of the community like a village hall, school library, scout hut or community garden.
Community champions, who already work closely within their local area, will nominate their chosen local charity to receive the grants, before a panel of Morrisons colleagues vote to select the 125 winning nominations. The winning charities will be announced in August this year.
Other anniversary celebrations taking place during the coming month will reward customers in store and online.
For example, the biggest ever Morrisons More Card ‘Basket Bonus’ gets underway from Wednesday, June 19 and will run until Sunday, July 14.
The ‘Basket Bonus’ will give loyalty customers the chance to win points, earn bigger rewards and even have the chance to become a More Points Millionaire.
Customers can scan their Morrisons More Card or app in store or online, to see if they are in with a chance of a ‘Basket Bonus’. This will include free products to up to 5,000 extra More Points being added to their More Card account.
In addition, 10 customers will also become a Morrisons More Points Millionaire each week, meaning they will claim a £1,000 bonus to spend in store or online by scanning their card.
Founder William Morrison’s son Ken took over the running of the grocery store business in the 1950s and turned it into one of the nation’s most successful supermarket chains.
Sir Ken left the business in 2008 and Morrisons was bought for £7bn by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in 2021. It reported a near £1 billion loss last year, driven in large part by soaring debt financing costs.