In what is described as the claiming of the "first scalp of the year," Reuters reports that UK retailer Morrisons CEO Dalton Philips is out, with a search being conducted for a successor that the company hopes can "return the business to growth."
The move by the board comes after a holiday season in which Morrisons ranked fourth among the UK's big four retailers - Tesco, Sainsbury, and Walmart-owned Asda Group - with same-store sales that were down more than three percent.
Andrew Higginson, the former Tesco finance director who will become Morrisons' new chairman next week, said in an interview that the board feels the company's business goals could be "best done under new leadership."
The move by the board comes after a holiday season in which Morrisons ranked fourth among the UK's big four retailers - Tesco, Sainsbury, and Walmart-owned Asda Group - with same-store sales that were down more than three percent.
Andrew Higginson, the former Tesco finance director who will become Morrisons' new chairman next week, said in an interview that the board feels the company's business goals could be "best done under new leadership."
- KC's View:
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One of the things that the local newspapers talk about a lot in the UK is the "big four." But it seems to me that this move by Morrisons has more to do with the big four being diminished by value retailers such as Aldi and Lidl, and specialty retailers such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Dalton Philips probably won't be the last squeezee.
