September 24: Morrison’s blunder over local stores sell-off

AS a regular user of both M Local and Morrison’s supermarkets for a number of years, it has been clear that some changes were needed to recover staff morale and improve systems, but is selling M Local the first mistake by the new management?

If part of a business is not doing so well surely the answer was to ditch the poorly performing stores and the management that set them up, and keep the well performing ones? Ours was said to be performing well above expectations over its first year, and these stores must act as feeder stores to introduce customers to the main supermarkets.

What has now happened is they have been sold at £25m, below a retail expert’s valuation of £30- 50m, losing approx 100 profitable ones, at a time when “local” shopping is increasing and damaging customer loyalty at the same time? A bad deal four times over?

From: William Steward, Menston.

NOT only are there never enough staff on the checkouts at Morrisons in Guiseley, but they don’t even have staff assisting people trying to use the self-service machines. I long for the day when Sir Ken Morrison is put in charge of this branch.