Friday 27 February 2015

David Potts completes the 4-man solution to Morrisons rebirth

The combination of Higginson, Strain and Potts with hopefully silent partner Morrison, sharing a philosophy of down-to-earth common-sense retailing and their Tesco-in-common experience, constitute a grounded team that is hopefully well poised to implement Dalton Philips’ breakthrough strategy…

Appointed to pull Morrisons into the 21st Century via an injection of IT, global vision and democracy, Philips managed the five-year programme of heavy lifting, but was undone by the middle-squeezing impact of Waitrose and the discounters, at a time when a return to basics was required in retail…

In the interim, with his pragmatic approach, Andrew Higginson has reduced the Morrisons’ message to basics and will probably go for growth via a shift from back to front margin, a focus on pricing and optimisation of his familiar like-minded CEO.

The new team will build on Philips’ improvement in operating systems, and moves into convenience and online (with possibly a re-assessment of the small-print of the 25-year Ocado contract...).

Within the business, the new chairman and CEO will sound and feel like Ken Morrison, which will not only provide internal reassurance, but will also ensure a couple of years’ silent tolerance from at least one key shareholder…

Back to the future for Morrisons?
Meanwhile, NAMs need to anticipate a return to the old Morrisons, but manage a retailer that is super-charged with the benefits of a visit to a future that was found to be not all bullshit….

No comments: