Shake-up at Morrisons after profits slump
British supermarket boss Ken Morrison bowed to shareholder pressure today with a major boardroom shake-up at the chain he has run for almost 50 years.
The changes will see Morrisons appoint a chief executive for the first time and replace its finance director after a profits warning last week led to calls for the Bradford-based company to overhaul its management structure.
Morrison, who has been with the company since 1952, will remain as executive chairman while independent director David Jones becomes his deputy.
The veteran boss said he believed Morrisons now had “the right team to deliver the full benefits of the Safeway acquisition”.
That business-transforming deal, which saw Morrisons pay more than £3bn (€4.3bn) for its larger rival, left its mark on annual results today, which showed bottom-line profits fell to £297.1m (€428.5m), from £319.9m (€461.4m) a year earlier.
Sales in the 52 weeks to January 30 showed strong gains at Morrisons and converted Safeway stores, but those outlets still to be converted to the Morrisons format saw a like-for-like sales fall of 6.8%.
That performance has improved since the start of the new financial year, the company added.
