Morrisons to revive 'much-liked' Safeway food and grocery brand

Morrisons is reviving the Safeway brand after 11 years as part of its attempt to move back into the fast-growing convenience market.

The former supermarket brand, which disappeared in November 2005 after being bought by Morrisons, will front a range of hundreds of food and grocery products, many of which will be produced within the Bradford-based company’s own factories.

Morrisons will begin distributing the range in the first half of next year, although the retailer has not confirmed whether it will be handling relations with independent stores directly or working with a distribution firm.

The move could result in the Safeway brand competing for space on convenience store shelves with established wholesale brands such as Booker’s Happy Shopper and Nisa Today’s Heritage.

Clive Black, a retail analyst at Morrisons’ house broker, Shore Capital, said the move would improve the utilisation of the supermarket’s manufacturing facilities. The group has 16 factories, including its own abattoirs, making it the UK’s second-biggest food manufacturer.

Black said: “The return of the Safeway brand [is] an eminently sensible move to our minds, reflecting the warm heritage and feel that this much-liked label had in days gone by.”

The move is part of a broader strategy to tap into the convenience store market, which Morrisons previously tried and failed to enter via its now defunct M Local chain.

Morrisons is also planning to test out 10 more petrol forecourt stores via a new deal with petrol station operator Rontec and wholesaler Palmer and Harvey. Four stores, called Morrisons Daily and selling Morrisons-branded products, will open before Christmas and a further six in January.

Morrisons already operates five petrol station convenience stores as part of a trial with another forecourt operator, Motor Fuel Group.

David Potts, the chief executive of Morrisons, said: “These are two capital-light ways of growing in the convenience food market. By working with well-established partners and reviving the Safeway brand, we are making our products more accessible to more customers.”

The move comes as more shoppers switch to picking up a few groceries on a daily basis rather than in a big weekly shop. Small local stores are expected to see an 11.7% rise in sales over the next five years compared with 0.8% growth at supermarkets, according to the grocery trade body IGD.

Morrisons is also building its relationship with US online retailer Amazon. The British supermarket supplies groceries to the Amazon Fresh food business and last week expanded the relationship to its Prime Now quick delivery service in London and Hertfordshire.