Smaller executive board for Morrisons – analysts
Group human resources director Emily Lawson, who joined Morrisons in 2013, left the retailer on Wednesday (June 17), becoming the eighth executive board member to do so since March.
Potts cleared out five executive roles at the end of March in a management shakeup designed to speed up the business, less than a week after taking over the business on March 15.
Another two board members left the beleaguered retailer shortly after, including group trading and manufacturing director Casper Meijer.
Shore Capital analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley believed the recent changes to the board were “beneficial” to the group, which had “frankly lost its way in a brutal industry”.
‘Effective leadership’
City talk
Clive Black and Darren Shirley:
“With the decks seemingly cleared, Mr Potts will no doubt be seeking a new team, perhaps with fewer members.”
They added: “Any organisation needs effective leadership, but no more so than large mass market people-orientated supermarkets.
“With the decks seemingly cleared, Mr Potts will no doubt be seeking a new team, perhaps with fewer members.”
Morrisons would go through another year of transition in a bid to steady itself after suffering severe profit losses, caused by the rising discounters Aldi and Lidl, they added.
What the company needed now was a new and effective senior management team, progressive improvement in-store, as well as supply chain and systems improvements, said Black and Shirley.
“While there is no quick fix to our minds, there is a material prize if these themes can dovetail in terms of free cash generation.”
‘Moves into its next phase’
A Morrisons spokesman said: “As Morrisons moves into its next phase, Emily Lawson will be leaving to take up new opportunities in the future.
Exiting Execs
- Group customer marketing & digital director Nick Collard
- Group retail director Martyn Fletcher
- Group property and strategy director Gordon Mowat
- Group logistics director Neal Austin
- Convenience md Nigel Robertson
- Supply chain and projects director Mark Harrison
- Group trading and manufacturing director Casper Meijer
- Group human resources director Emily Lawson
“We thank Emily for her contribution to the business and wish her well for the future.”
Meanwhile, Potts announced he would slash the prices of a further 200 everyday items this month in his latest attempt to turn the ailing retailer’s fortunes around.
The cuts would form part of the Morrisons’ three-year £1bn price-cutting plan, which has so far seen the prices of more than 1,600 products cut since March last year.
Potts said: “We want to be the best value retailer – offering customers the best price for good quality British produce.
“Today, we’ve reset some of our prices so that our cupboard essentials will be amongst the lowest on the market.”
