Latest news with #RamiBaitieh
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Morrisons to close 54 cafes and 14 stores across UK
Supermarket chain Morrisons has confirmed it will shut more than 50 of its in-store cafes and a number of Morrisons Daily convenience stores as part of a restructuring programme Morrisons is set to shut more than 50 of its cafes and several Morrisons Daily convenience stores across the UK, resulting in a loss of more than 3,600 jobs in another hit to the British high street. This comes as the retailer announced a return to profit for the first time since its 2021 private equity takeover. The supermarket chain boasted a pre-tax profit of £2.1 billion for the year ending October 27, 2024, a stark contrast to losses of £919 million the previous year and £1.3 billion the year before that. A significant chunk of this profit, £2.6 billion, came from the sale of its petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group. It comes after Gordon Brown blasts the return of 'poverty of 60 years ago' as he makes one big demand. READ MORE: Mindless yobs damage 41 cars in vandalism rampage through sleepy market town While the forecourt sale was a major contributor to the profit rebound, Morrisons' underlying performance also saw improvement, with losses in continuing operations being cut in half to £538 million from £1.09 billion. The chain reported a 3.9 per cent rise in like-for-like sales and a 4.2% increase in total sales to £3.9 billion in the second quarter of its current financial year. However, recent filings at Companies House reveal that the company has downsized its workforce from 104,819 to 101,144, affecting store staff, manufacturing, distribution, and head office roles. Chief Executive Rami Baitieh said the focus remains on delivering value to customers amid a challenging economic climate characterised by inflation and subdued consumer spending. In an earlier statement, the CEO said: "Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment, with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers' minds. "Throughout the first half, we've worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty." Earlier this year, Morrisons announced the closure of 17 Morrisons Daily stores, with the last one in Haxby, North Yorkshire, shutting its doors on 14 May. The supermarket giant has also confirmed that over 50 in-store cafés will be closing down. These closures are part of a broader cost-cutting trend seen across the supermarket industry. Aldi, Tesco, and Sainsbury's have all reported job cuts in recent months, with Sainsbury's also closing all of its in-store cafés. Morrisons Cafe Closures Bradford Thornbury Paisley Falside Road London Queensbury Portsmouth Great Park Banchory North Deeside Road Failsworth Poplar Street Blackburn Railway Road Leeds Swinnow Road London Wood Green Kirkham Poulton Street Lutterworth Bitteswell Road Stirchley Leeds Horsforth London Erith Crowborough Bellshill John Street Dumbarton Glasgow Road East Kilbride Lindsayfield East Kilbride Stewartfield Glasgow Newlands Largs Irvine Road Troon Academy Street Wishaw Kirk Road Newcastle UT Cowgate Northampton Kettering Road Bromsgrove Buntsford Industrial Park Solihull Warwick Road Brecon Free Street Caernarfon North Road Hadleigh London Harrow Hatch End High Wycombe Temple End Leighton Buzzard Lake Street London Stratford Sidcup Westwood Lane Welwyn Garden City Black Fan Road Warminster Weymouth Street Oxted Station Yard Reigate Bell Street Borehamwood Weybridge Monument Hill Bathgate Erskine Bridgewater Shopping Centre Gorleston Blackwell Road Connah's Quay Mansfield Woodhouse Elland Gloucester Metz Way Watford Ascot Road Littlehampton Wick Helensburgh Morrisons Daily Store Closures Bath Moorland Road Exeter Sidwell Street Goring-By-Sea Strand Parade Gorleston Lowestoft Road Great Barr Queslett Road Haxby Village Peebles Old Town Poole Waterloo Estate Romsey The Cornmarket Selsdon Featherbed Lane Shenfield Hutton Road Stewarton Lainshaw Street Tonbridge Higham Lane Whickham Oakfield Road
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Debt-laden Morrisons rocked by £600m loss as one retail expert warns the grocer is 'very much in decline'
Morrisons lost almost £600million last year as pressure mounts on the debt-laden supermarket chain that one retail expert has described as 'very much in decline'. The private equity-owned grocer is being squeezed by discounters Aldi and Lidl on the one hand, and market leader Tesco on the other. It lost £592million on 'continuing operations' – including groceries and food manufacturing – in the year to October, down from £974million in 2023. Sales nudged up to £15.3billion from £14.7billion. The figures exclude a one-off gain of £2.6billion made on the sale of Morrisons' petrol forecourt unit that was mainly used to pay down debt, which stood at £6billion at the end of the year, down from £7billion in 2023. Morrisons was saddled with huge borrowings after it was acquired by US buyout group Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) in 2021. The cost of servicing that debt soared as interest rates rocketed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year later. Finance costs last year totalled £699million, which was slightly down from £730million the previous year. Last night experts said the windfall from the petrol stations' sale to Motor Fuels Group 'flatters the numbers' and warned the chain 'can't maintain the status quo' and needs 'root and branch reform' to take on discount rivals. Chief executive Rami Baitieh has tried to turn it around by axing 3,600 staff, following 8,800 job losses in 2023. The cost-cutting continues with the closure of 52 cafes, 17 convenience stores, all 18 Market Kitchens, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies. Morrisons is Britain's fifth-biggest supermarket, with an 8.4 per cent market share, but Lidl is breathing down its neck on 8.3 per cent, according to retail experts Kantar. Retail expert Jonathan De Mello said Morrisons did not have a distinctive offer. He said: 'I think they are a business which is very much in decline and are finding it very hard to maintain market share. 'They have a real problem with positioning. They want to provide a low-cost solution – but at the same time they can't compete in the mass market where Tesco and Asda are dominant. They are stuck in the middle. He said Baitieh, who joined from French food giant Carrefour, was 'getting to grips with the British market but he hasn't got there yet'. A Morrisons spokesman said that its debt now stood at £3.5billion, which was 43 per cent below the level when CD&R bought the business, 'with financing costs being reduced accordingly'.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Morrisons revenues drop by £1bn amid supermarket price war
Morrisons' sales have fallen by more than £1bn as it faces mounting pressure from a supermarket price war. Revenues slipped to £17bn in its latest financial year, falling from £18.3bn a year earlier. It marked the supermarket's lowest annual revenues since its private equity takeover in 2021, piling pressure on Rami Baitiéh, the chief executive, who has pledged to 'reinvigorate' the supermarket. The decline came after Morrisons sold off its petrol forecourt business in April 2024. Stripping out the impact, underlying sales were marginally higher in the 2024 financial year at £15.3bn, compared with £14.7bn. The petrol station deal provided a £2.6bn boost that propelled the supermarket into profit. Without the windfall, Morrisons would have remained loss-making. The company recorded a £592m loss from its 'continuing operations' for the year, which includes the supermarket chain and its food manufacturing businesses. That compared to a £974m overall loss a year earlier. Morrisons faced £701m of finance costs as it continues to battle with high debt repayments in the wake of its £10bn takeover by private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). The supermarket's debt pile stood at £7bn at the end of last October, down from £8.6bn a year earlier. It has stepped up repayments since then and the company said its debt stood at £3.5bn last month. The latest annual figures come months after Mr Baitiéh warned about the 'challenging macro environment, with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment'. He said more shoppers were hunting for value.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Major supermarket cuts another 3,600 jobs as it slashes staff costs
Morrisons slashed more than 3,600 jobs last year as the embattled retailer turned a profit for the first time since its 2021 private equity takeover. The group, which cut more than 8,800 jobs in 2023, saw its headcount fall from 104,819 to 101,144 in the 12 months to 27 October 2024, Companies House accounts published this week show. Cost cutting efforts helped Morrisons swing to a pre-tax profit of £2.1billion for 2024, having suffered losses of £919million and £1.3billion in the previous two years respectively. However, it saw group revenues slump from £18.3billion to £17billion for the year. Morrisons' market share has increasingly come under pressure from European discounters, with Lidl poised to take its spot as Britain's fifth largest supermarket after double-digit growth in the second quarter. The group has already lost its position as the fourth-biggest grocer in Britain to Aldi. Boss Rami Baitieh is attempting to engineer a recovery at Morrisons, which was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in a debt-fuelled £7billion deal in October 2021. Job losses in the year to the end of October 2024 were compounded in March when Morrisons announced it cut more than 350 jobs across its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters following the introduction of higher labour costs in last year's Autumn Budget. Morrisons is now alone among the supermarket sector in pushing ahead with staff cuts, with Aldi, Tesco and Sainsbury's all announcing job losses since the Autumn Budget. Mr Baitiéh - an ex air force colonel, dubbed 'Mr Fixit' – said in March: 'The changes… are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth.'
Telegraph
03-08-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Morrisons' Mr Fix-it under pressure as turnaround loses steam
For the past year and a half, senior staff have been expected to dial into a Google Teams meeting daily at 6.30pm to discuss where Morrisons can improve. A spokesman for Morrisons said: 'The evening online chat isn't mandatory and there's no inquisition if you don't attend. It's been part of our daily routine for some time now and it's well-supported by senior colleagues.' When issues are raised with managers at those meetings, they are expected to reply, 'Leave it with me, Rami.' Another phrase insiders associate with Baitiéh is 'it starts with 'I'' – a form of words intended to make managers take personal responsibility. 'He believes all these things are fostering a high-performance culture,' says one senior retail source. 'But what you've got is a business full of people who won't upset the status quo because they're worried about getting fired.' Within grocery circles, those who have stuck around at Morrisons are branded 'survivors'. Several senior figures have left including chief customer officer Darren Blackhurst and, last week, its head of property David Scott. 'The problem is he's now surrounded by people who are worried about challenging Rami,' says one former Morrisons worker. 'But Rami has strong views on everything and, if you ask me, his ideas are not working.' Already, there have been growing signs that not everything is going smoothly. Last month, The Grocer magazine revealed Morrisons was facing a row with suppliers over the supermarket's demands that they brought forward spending on promotions and in-store marketing to help it hit revised financial targets. Morrisons rebuffed the characterisation, saying this was a 'normal part of how the industry does business' and that plans often changed as the year progressed. However, there have been other hiccups. Baitiéh has overseen a push to start selling more 'when it's gone it's gone' general merchandise within stores in an attempt to see off competition from Aldi and Lidl. Some of that stock has not been up to standards. A delivery of pillows had to be sent back after it failed to meet UK regulations. Staff frustration There have also been rumblings of staff frustration. Earlier this year, Morrisons is understood to have told staff in its commercial team that they must work in its head office five days a week. It later had to row back on the mandate after a staff survey showed resistance. Workers in its commercial teams – who often log on between 7am and 7.30am – can now work from home one day a week. 'Everybody there is feeling it,' says one insider. 'Rami is putting everyone under enormous pressure to deliver results.' Perhaps with good reason. Within weeks, experts say Morrisons could drop another place in the rankings of Britain's largest supermarkets, having already dipped below Aldi in 2023. According to the latest Kantar figures published last month, Morrisons held an 8.4pc of the grocery market in the three months to mid-July – versus Lidl's 8.3pc. It is a gap that has narrowed significantly over the past year, with Morrisons having held a 8.7pc share last summer compared with Lidl's 7.8pc.
