Morrisons online supremo resigns

George Dymond, the man recruited by Morrisons to bolster its new online grocery business, has resigned just weeks after joining the firm.

Mr Dymond was hired by Britain’s No. 4 grocer late last year from Coles, the Australian retailer.

He joined Bradford-based Morrisons in January to help run the retailer’s online grocery service, which is operated in partnership with Ocado.

Morrisons declined to comment.

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The firm began making its first online food deliveries in the Midlands on January 10 and expects to be covering half of the UK by the beginning of 2015.

The resignation comes just a week before Morrisons launches its online service in its Yorkshire heartlands.

Morrisons’ late entry into both online grocery and local convenience stores, the sector’s two fastest growing channels, has dented its market share and profits.

Earlier this month the group revealed it had endured a poor Christmas despite it having talked up its prospects in November.

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Its like-for-like sales fell 5.6 per cent, excluding fuel, in the six weeks to January 5 and it said year profit would be towards the bottom of the range of analysts’ expectations.

Morrisons is also facing calls from activist investors, including US hedge fund Elliott Associates, to radically restructure its property portfolio.

The grocer plans to detail the result of a property review when it publishes 2013-14 results on March 13, but has said the majority of its core estate will remain under freehold ownership.

Shares in Morrisons, down 14.4 per cent over the last six months, closed on Monday at 245.7p, valuing the business at £5.7bn.