By Razak Musah Baba
LONDON--Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) said on Tuesday
that Chief Executive Dalton Philips is stepping down after five
years at the helm of the U.K.'s fourth-biggest supermarket group,
which is seeking to regain earnings momentum.
Morrisons announced Mr. Philips departure as it reported a 1.3%
fall in revenue, excluding fuel sales, in the six weeks to Jan. 4
compared with the same period last year. The company stuck to a
forecast of pretax profit, discounting new-business development and
one-off costs, in the range of 335 million pounds ($507.5 million)
to GBP365 million in its current fiscal year, which runs to the
start of February.
"In the next chapter of Morrisons' development, we need to
return the business to growth," said incoming Chairman Andrew
Higginson. "The board believes this is best done under new
leadership."
Mr. Philips has agreed to continue in his role until the
announcement of fiscal year-end results to ensure a smooth
transition, Morrisons said. The company also said Chairman Ian
Gibson will retire, as previously announced, to be replaced by Mr.
Higginson, currently his deputy, on Jan. 22.
The U.K.'s "big four" supermarket chains--Tesco Corp. (TESO),
Asda, part of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN)
and Morrisons--have been scrambling to retain their market share
following the recent success of no-frills German rivals like Aldi
and Lidl.
Morrisons, hit harder than the other retailers because it didn't
offer online sales, tried to address that by announcing a deal in
summer 2013 to offer food online in partnership with Ocado Group,
an Internet grocer. The venture made its first delivery a year
ago.
"Over the last five years, we have made many improvements to the
business," Mr. Philips said in a statement.
Write to Razak Musah Baba at razak.baba@wsj.com; Twitter:
@Raztweet
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires