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By JOSE RAMOS Published: 08:02 BST, 16 April 2025 | Updated: 08:15 BST, 16 April 2025
Several Morrisons Daily convenience stores are to shut for the last time today.The supermarket giant announced that it was planning to close 52 of its in-store cafes and 17 small outlets. To add to this, the supermarket said it will also be shutting down several of its hot food counters, meat counters, florists and pharmacies.It has blamed the Government’s increase in employer’s National Insurance as well as the rise in the minimum wage. Morrisons Daily locations operate as convenience stores, with extended opening hours.The supermarket announced the closures of the 17 convenience stores last month, also announcing that it will shut 52 of its cafes, placing 365 jobs at risk. The supermarket said it would also be shutting down several of its hot food counters, meat counters, florists and pharmacies. Picture: Stock image Closures: Morrisons said it will shutter 16 of its Morissons Daily stores on 16 April
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The supermarket previously told the Sun: ‘Morrisons has made the difficult decision to close some Morrisons Daily stores, some of which contain Post Offices. List of stores to close Lowestoft Road, Gorleston3-5 Old Town, Peebles214 Hutton Road, ShenfieldWaterloo Estate, PooleHigham Lane Estate, TonbridgeThe Cornmarket, RomseyLainshaw Street, StewartonFeatherbed Lane, SelsdonQueslett Road, Great BarrOakfield Road, WhickhamQueensway, WorleStrand Parade, Goring-By-SeaWestfield Road, Woking40 Peach Street, Wokingham51 Sidwell Street, ExeterMoorland Road, Bath ‘We fully recognise the inconvenience this will cause for our customers and apologise for the short notification as these branches close between 9 April and 14 May.’Announcing the closures last month, Baitiéh said: ‘The changes we are announcing today 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.’This comes after the retailer said it was costing more to run services than it was making from customer spending.Despite this, CEO Rami Baitiéh insisted Morrisons and its cafes have a ‘bright future’.Mr Baitiéh – an ex air force colonel, dubbed ‘Mr Fixit’ – said: ‘The changes we are announcing today 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.’Morrisons Cafés are rightly famous for their great quality well-priced food, their place in the local community and their appealing mix of traditional favourites alongside exciting new dishes.’In most locations the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option. Mr Baitiéh shaking hands with a Morrisons customer during a visit to one of its stores ‘Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it. But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic.’In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafés, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer.’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.’Mr Baitiéh has been trying to save Morrisons after he took over the business in November 2023.In March that year, it was reported the company was hemorrhaging cash, racking up £1.5billion of losses.Mr Baitiéh then informed staff that the two most important groups in Morrisons are buyers and store managers and more autonomy needs to be granted to them.The Frenchman, born in Lebanon and previously CEO of Carrefour, began daily unannounced store visits and left his own email address in the complaints section of the supermarket’s website for customers to contact him directly.
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Major supermarket closing 16 stores TODAY as part of massive overhaul – full list of stores shutting down for good
