Dalton Philips means business

Morrisons’ new chief executive Dalton Philips has wasted no time in beefing up his board with the appointment of Waitrose commercial director Richard Hodgson to join as its group commercial director.

Hodgson is a heavyweight retailer, and has experience of both the premium sector with Waitrose and the value sector with his previous 10-year stint at Asda. Philips told Retail Week that Hodgson’s knowledge of range architecture is “among the best in the industry” and he “will bring a lot of weight to our team”.

Philips has been with Morrisons for just two months and Hodgson’s appointment shows he means business. As Retail Week reported last month, Philips has been weighing up his team and will not be afraid to make any changes he deems necessary early on.

He has also made an interesting move with Martyn Jones’s new role. Jones, who has been with the business more than 20 years, is group trading director and in September will step down from the board to become group corporate services director.

The new position will see Jones focus on government affairs, corporate responsibility, public relations and food safety. Despite being a FTSE company, Morrisons punches below its weight in government issues and food policy. But considering its vertical integration and that it owns its own farms, it should be at the forefront.

Philips said Morrisons “has got to be at the table” and “at the moment we’re not punching our own weight”. He wants Morrisons to shape the agenda and Jones will lead on that.

Philips still has lots of decisions to make in terms of growth avenues such as online food shopping and he will deliver his strategy in September. He is likely to focus on Morrisons’ strengths and won’t try to run before he can walk. Instead, he will explore all opportunities and Morrisons is likely to give the rest of the big four a run for their money in coming months. This week, he took his team to the US to see some fresh retail ideas. The grocery world should watch this space.