Years after U.K. grocery chains Sainsbury’s and Tesco took out their fish counters, Morrisons is following suit by eliminating fish counters in 35 of its stores.
The Bradford, U.K.-based grocery chain is also closing 35 meat counters, 52 cafes, all 18 of its market kitchens, 17 convenience stores, 13 florists, and four pharmacies over the next few months.
“A wide-ranging review identified a number of areas where the costs of operations are significantly out of line with usage, volumes, or the value that customers place on them,” Morrisons said. “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.”
This year marks the second year of Morrisons’ program of renewal, in which it is “making a number of changes and adjustments to its stores and operations to accelerate growth, to optimize its operations, and to help mitigate recent significant cost increases,” the firm said. …
