An influential retail analyst has warned that Morrisons may become extinct in the UK, as the market continues to squeeze it out.
“Morrisons is the only retailer who potentially may find out the UK has moved on and there is no more need for it,” said Bruno Monteyne, analyst at Bernstein research and brokerage firm.
“Morrisons can’t simply go back to the old days. Its historical place has been taken by the discounters.
“It does not yet know what it can offer UK consumers that is a valid alternative and sufficiently different from Asda and the discounters. Morrisons is a round peg in search of a square hole.”
Mr Monteyne worked as a director for Tesco until 2012, and so has experience in the sector to back up his scathing words.
The hard hitting words were highly regarded, if they were indeed linked to the big shares price slump that followed Monteyne’s comments. Shares in the FTSE 100 supermarket group fell by 12.2p, putting it down to 186.3p.
Morrisons, along with the other big four stores, is in the middle of the price spectrum, and discounters Lidl and Aldi are eating up the lower market share. Unless Morrisons can find a new niche that sets it aside from the other stores, it could well disappear from the high street as Mr Monteyne predicts.
