Morrisons announces closure of 52 cafes and 17 convenience stores

Supermarket giant Morrisons is set to close 52 cafes and 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The closures come as part of a broader effort to streamline operations, enabling the company to focus on areas of the business where customers are perceived to derive the most value.

The closures will also affect various in-store services such as meat and fish counters, pharmacies, and all 18 of Morrisons’ market kitchens, which serve freshly made meals to take away. These changes are expected to roll out over the coming months, with around 365 employees facing potential redundancy. Although Morrisons has expressed its intention to redeploy affected staff, the job cuts remain a major concern for workers.

Increased competition from discounters

Morrisons, once the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, has faced growing pressure from discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl. Aldi surpassed Morrisons in 2022, leaving the supermarket chain in fifth place. With this increasing competition, Morrisons is taking steps to cut costs and become more competitive in a price-sensitive market.

Speaking on the decision, Morrisons' Chief Executive Rami 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."

Cafes and stores set to close

The 52 cafes and 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores that are closing include locations across the UK.

The list of cafes impacted includes:

• Bradford Thornbury
• Paisley Falside Rd
• London Queensbury
• Portsmouth Great Park
• Banchory North Deeside Rd
• Failsworth Poplar Street
• Blackburn Railway Road
• Leeds Swinnow Rd
• London Wood Green
• Kirkham Poulton St
• Lutterworth Bitteswell Rd
• Stirchley
• Leeds Horsforth
• London Erith
• Crowborough
• Bellshill John St
• Dumbarton Glasgow Rd
• East Kilbride Lindsayfield
• East Kilbride Stewartfield
• Glasgow Newlands
• Largs Irvine Rd
• Troon Academy St
• Wishaw Kirk Rd
• Newcastle UT Cowgate
• Northampton Kettering Road
• Bromsgrove Buntsford Ind Pk
• Solihull Warwick Rd
• Brecon Free St
• Caernarfon North Rd
• Hadleigh
• London Harrow Hatch End
• High Wycombe Temple End
• Leighton Buzzard Lake St
• London Stratford
• Sidcup Westwood Lane
• Welwyn Garden City Black Fan Rd
• Warminster Weymouth St
• Oxted Station Yard
• Reigate Bell St
• Borehamwood
• Weybridge Monument Hill
• Bathgate
• Erskine Bridgewater SC
• Gorleston Blackwell Road
• Connah’s Quay
• Mansfield Woodhouse
• Elland
• Gloucester Metz Way
• Watford Ascot Road
• Littlehampton Wick
• Helensburgh

The 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores set to close include:

• Gorleston Lowestoft Road
• Peebles Old Town
• Shenfield Hutton Road
• Poole Waterloo Estate
• Tonbridge Higham Lane Est
• Romsey The Cornmarket
• Stewarton Lainshaw Street
• Selsdon Featherbed Lane
• Haxby Village
• Great Barr Queslett Road
• Whickham Oakfield Road
• Worle
• Goring-by-Sea Strand Para
• Woking Westfield Road
• Wokingham Peach Street
• Exeter Sidwell Street
• Bath Moorland Road

Industry challenges and response

Morrisons is not alone in closing cafes. In January, Sainsbury's announced the closure of its remaining cafes, noting that many shoppers did not use the services regularly. According to Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, Morrisons is being forced to make tough choices to survive in an increasingly competitive market. "The supermarket chain is closing services seen as nice-to-have, but not essential, and scaling back its convenience footprint as it readies for a round of cost-cutting from rivals," she said.

Morrisons, which employs approximately 95,000 staff across its 500 supermarkets and 1,600 Morrisons Daily stores, is now turning its focus toward becoming more value-driven to compete with discounters like Aldi and Lidl.

As these closures unfold over the coming months, the focus will be on whether Morrisons can successfully adapt and retain its customer base in the face of fierce competition from its discount rivals.