We have said before that while very many things were done spectacularly badly when Morrisons took over Safeway the company never stopped being a great grocer. What Marc Bolland has done so well since becoming chief executive is melded the best traditions of Morrisons with modern retail thinking.
In fairness, there has been plenty of low-hanging fruit to go for. Introducing a staff discount scheme not only added 1.5 percentage points to like-for-likes, but also ended the appalling situation of staff going elsewhere to shop. Big promotions on low-margin booze were a big help at Christmas too.
But he has overcome the cynics who questioned his credentials as a non-retailer to form a warm working relationship with Sir Ken, which has to be a pretty good training on how to be a grocer. He has kept long-standing directors onside while bringing in new talent where it was needed.
Bolland probably has a bigger opportunity than any other chief in UK retail. His company has more than 11 per cent of the UK grocery market, but has yet to dip a toe in online or non-food and is cautious about the Somerfield auction.
He is right to be cautious. Despite the pace of change in the industry, supermarket retailing remains primarily about selling people quality food at fair prices in physical stores, and that has traditionally been Morrisons’ strength. Get that right and the rest can follow later.
Finger on the pulse
Like-for-like sales don’t give a full picture, but they are a good guide to the health of the market. Retail Week now brings you the figures every week from BDO Stoy Hayward’s Like 4 Like Club, which measures the performance of mid-sized retailers. The figures appear on page 8 and, together with our other essential market data, there is no more immediate and accurate picture of where the market is.
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