Latest news with #RamiBaitieh
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morrisons toasts jump in sales and hikes savings target to £1bn
BRADFORD-based Morrisons has reported that sales jumped to £4 billion in its most recent quarter, days after the supermarket said hundreds of people are facing redundancy. The grocery giant said sales were 2.4 per cent up over the quarter to January 26 compared to the previous year, while it also hiked its savings targets. The company said it had made £56 million in savings during the period and increased its long-term savings goal from £700 million to £1 billion. Chief executive Rami Baitieh said Morrisons was trading in 'a challenging environment' and that the savings target would 'help us offset cost headwinds, invest for customers and remain competitive in a fast-changing market'. On Monday, Morrisons announced that 365 people's jobs were at risk of redundancy because of plans to close some of its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters. The supermarket chain said it was costing more to run the services than it was making from customer spending. The closures will see it shut down 52 cafes, all 18 market kitchens, 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies. Morrisons is the UK's fifth largest supermarket, according to data supplied by analysts Kantar, and hires around 95,000 staff across the country. Mr Baitieh added that the supermarket 'has made exceptional progress in a very short time and that is entirely down to the hard work, positivity, talent and customer focus of the colleagues in our stores, in our food-making sites and in our operations across the country'. The rising sales came despite a wide-ranging cyber attack before Christmas which was affecting the availability of products in its stores well into January. The company was unable to see its product availability and stock levels for four days after a cyber incident hit its technology supplier, Blue Yonder.
Miami Herald
25-03-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Global supermarket leader closing 17 stores, dozens of cafes
No matter where you look, the world is littered with eulogies for retailers that fell upon hard times. Some of those retailers are closing up shop entirely. Retailers like Joann and Forever 21 have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent months after struggling to generate enough profit to stay open. Related: Popular bank closing dozens of branches (locations revealed) Both of these retailers are shuttering their U.S. stores and closing up shop permanently, unable to keep the lights on after the landscape has changed permanently - and not in their favor. Other retailers are still hanging on. Macy's, for example, is embarking on a full-scale turnaround tour. Its Bold New Chapter strategy involves closing around 150 underperforming stores around the country by 2026. Some of its most iconic locations, including one in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, are shuttering as the mall retailer works to right the ship. Bloomberg/Getty Images But retailers are not just finding a hard time operating in the U.S. The United Kingdom also has its fair share of struggles. The British Retail Consortium estimates that the cost of food will rise by approximately 4.2% by the second half of 2025. And retailers are losing more money too, as the retailers are paying more for the national living wage, national insurance price hikes, and increased taxes on things like packaging materials. "As retailers battle the £7bn of increased costs in 2025 from the budget, including higher employer national insurance, national living wage, and new packaging levies, there is little hope of prices going anywhere but up," CEO of British Retail Consortium Helen Dickinson said. That pinch is being felt by Morrison's, one of the U.K.'s top grocery stores. The chain announced it will sunset several of its convenient in-store services, which include: 52 cafes18 Market Kitchens13 florists35 meat counters35 fish counters4 pharmacies Up to 365 jobs are at risk of being eliminated due to redundancies. "Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues," Morrison's CEO Rami Baitieh said. Baitieh also called the closures a "necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate" the store so it could grow things that "customers really value." Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
The Independent
25-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Morrisons to shut dozens of cafes and stores as part of major shake-up
Morrisons will close 52 cafes and 17 stores as well as dozens of meat and fish counters as it continues a massive overhaul of its store operations under boss Rami Baitieh. It said that 365 workers are at risk of redundancy but the majority of affected workers are expected to be moved into other roles. The supermarket chain said it was costing more to run the services than it was making from customer spending. The closures will see it shut down 52 cafes, all 18 market kitchens, 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies. Mr Baitieh, Morrisons' chief executive, said the changes were a 'necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate' the chain and invest in areas that 'customers really value'. In most locations, the Morrisons cafe has a 'bright future', but a small number have specific local challenges which made closures 'the only sensible option', Mr Baitieh said. The chief executive said it was committed to the Market Street model – which offers fresh meals such as pizza, pies and rotisserie chicken for takeaway in some shops – but that parts of it were 'simply uneconomic'. Some fresh food counters or cafes in shops could be replaced with specialist offers from third-party companies. 'Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues,' he said. 'We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.' Morrisons is the UK's fifth largest supermarket, according to data supplied by analysts Kantar, and hires around 95,000 staff across the country. It was overtaken by Aldi in the rankings in 2022, with the German discounter rival enjoying rapid growth as shoppers took advantage of cheaper prices during the cost of living crisis. Plans to revive Morrisons have been set in motion, having faced a challenging few years since being taken over by a US private equity firm in a £7bn deal. It has since benefited from sales growth and taking market share from competitors after growing its loyalty scheme and bringing down some prices.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morrisons to close cafes in Greater Glasgow area
Morrisons has announced the closure of five cafés in and around Glasgow. The supermarket chain said the cafés in Glasgow, Paisley, Dumbarton, Wishaw and two East Kilbride stores will all close. READ MORE: Drivers to prepare for disruption as temporary lights to be installed The closures are part of a wider plan to close cafés, convenience stores, florists, and fresh food counters, which puts 365 jobs at risk of redundancy. Morrisons said it was costing more to run these services than it was making from customer spending. Morrisons has said that the majority of staff members affected by the changes, which will be made over the next few months, are expected to be deployed to roles elsewhere in the business. But there will be a total of around 365 employees at risk of redundancy. READ MORE: Co-op worker 'threatened' by gang of youths - enquiries are ongoing Rami Baitieh, Morrisons' chief executive, said the changes were a "necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate" the chain and invest in areas that "customers really value." Rami has confirmed that in most locations, the Morrisons café has a "bright future", but a small number have specific local challenges which made closures "the only sensible option." The chief executive said it was committed to the Market Street model – which offers fresh meals such as pizza, pies, and rotisserie chicken for takeaway in some shops – but that parts of it were "simply uneconomic." READ MORE: Pictures show pub cordoned off following sinkhole discovery Some fresh food counters or cafés in shops could be replaced with specialist offers from third-party companies. He said: "Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues. "We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes." Morrisons is the UK's fifth largest supermarket, according to data supplied by analysts Kantar, and hires around 95,000 staff across the country. It was overtaken by Aldi in the rankings in 2022, with the German discounter rival enjoying rapid growth as shoppers took advantage of cheaper prices during the cost-of-living crisis. Plans to revive Morrisons have been set in motion, having faced a challenging few years since being taken over by a US private equity firm in a £7 billion deal.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Product availability still recovering after tech outage, says Morrisons
Morrisons has said the availability of products in its stores has still not fully recovered after a major IT systems outage before Christmas. The UK's fifth-largest supermarket chain said its recent turnaround progress was 'set back' by the issue, which has caused weaker sales growth in recent months. Boss Rami Baitieh said the company was unable to see its product availability and stock levels for four days after a cyber incident hit its technology supplier, Blue Yonder. 'We found a work around very quickly but our availability fell significantly and we very sadly let down some customers,' he said. 'The incident did set back our progress. 'Our availability is improving but it is not yet back to where it was before the incident, although product availability is still better than we were a year ago.' Chief financial officer Jo Goff said Morrisons expects to recover costs caused by the incident as it seeks to make a claim with its insurers. The group added that sales for the current quarter, which covered the key Christmas period, were positive but saw slower growth than the previous quarter. It came after Morrisons' sales jumped last year, with the supermarket saying it took market share from competitors and grew its loyalty card scheme. The company said like-for-like sales rose 4.1% in the year ending October 27, while earnings jumped to £835 million from £751 million in the previous 12 months. The annual results did not cover the key Christmas trading period, when Morrisons suffered IT issues of its own, causing delivery issues and forcing it to cut the price of items including turkeys and Champagne for some customers. But the supermarket did show its best quarter since 2021 for the three months to October 27, when sales rose 4.9% compared with the previous year. Morrisons, which has its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and employs more than 100,000 people across the UK, has been owned by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice since 2021. Mr Baitieh said: 'This has been a year of urgent reinvigoration and positive progress for Morrisons. 'Customer transactions increased, market share grew from Q2 and we saw positive switching from our competitors. 'The improvements across the business have resulted in better availability in our stores, sharper prices, more effective promotions and a strong and growing loyalty scheme.' It comes after Morrisons said it would axe more than 200 jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan, joining Sainsbury's in reducing headcount in the months after the October Budget. The move followed Mr Baitieh warning that supermarkets faced an 'avalanche of costs' after Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased taxes for employers. Morrisons was one of more than 70 businesses, including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's, that told Ms Reeves in an open letter that the changes announced in the Budget mean price rises are a 'certainty'. It said changes to national insurance contributions would push its costs up £75 million a year from April, with an extra £10 million of costs expected due to the impact of the changes on third party partners, such as security staff in its shops.
