Change of leadership again

Following a 3.1% drop in like-for-like sales in the Christmas 2014 trading period, Morrisons announced the widely expected resignation of the heavily publicly criticised Chief Executive of five years, Dalton Philips, to become effective in March 2015. In addition, the Chairman Sir Ian Gibson would stand down six months early to be replaced by former Tesco Chief Financial Officer Andrew Higginson at the end of January 2015.^[50] Five additional executives exited the company in March 2015.^[51]
Morrisons also announced the closure of 10 small loss-making stores (eight former Netto UK stores and two former Somerfield stores, bought under Philips's leadership) in Cramlington, Accrington, Ravensthorpe, Bransholme (Hull), Telford, West Bromwich, Wallasey (Seacombe – store pictured on the right), Newton le Willows, Rugby and Crawley.^[52] In addition, six unprofitable convenience stores would close, and the roll-out of the convenience store chain would be slowed, as a batch of 40 sites would no longer be bought.^[53]

Morrisons' headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire

On 25 February 2015, Morrisons named former Tesco director David Potts as its new chief executive.^[54]
In June 2015, Morrisons cut the price of 200 'everyday items' by up to 33%^[55] The store chain's like-for-like sales had fallen by 2.9% in the first three months of 2015 – after falling 2.6% in the last three months of 2014. The company responded by deciding to 'simplify' its head office in Bradford – at the cost of 720 jobs.^[56]
In September 2015, Morrisons announced the sale of its 140 M Local stores to Mike Greene and Greybull Capital, to be re-branded My Local, for £25 million^[57] and that it planned to close 11 supermarkets, costing a reported 900 jobs.^[58] Following on from this in January 2016 Morrisons bosses announced that a further 7 stores would be closing to help optimise their existing assets and address areas of underperformance.^[59]