Sir Ken Morrison: Proud Yorkshireman and supermarket legend

Sir Ken Morrison, who grew supermarket Morrisons into one of the UK’s largest companies, was ‘a unique figure in the history of grocery retailing’, his family said as they paid tribute to the ‘proud Yorkshireman’ who passed away today.

Sir Ken was the youngest child of William Murdoch Morrison and Hilda Morrison, owners of a small grocery chain set up in 1899.

While at Bradford Grammar School, Sir Ken worked in the family business in the school holidays, eventually managing the company at age 26 when his father was seriously ill.

By 1956 he was the chairman and managing director of a small group of shops, which saw the transformation of the family business into the national chain that is now Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer.

He stepped down in 2008 following the much-criticised handling of the acquisition of Safeway in 2004, a transaction that triggered five profit warnings.

Sir Ken retained a stake, holding the position of life president, giving him a platform to lambast his successors.

In 2014 he launched a furious attack on bosses at the group, describing its financial results as “disastrous” after the retailer announced it had slumped to a £176m loss.

“When I left work and started working as a hobby, I chose to raise cattle,” he told the supermarket’s former boss Dalton Philips.

“I have something like 1,000 bullocks and, having listened to your presentation, Dalton, you’ve got a lot more bulls*** than me.”

Sir Ken was awarded the CBE in 1990 and knighted in the Millennium New Year’s Honours list for his services to the food retailing industry.

A statement from his family read: “We are very sad to share the news that Sir Ken died today aged 85 following a short illness. He died peacefully at home in North Yorkshire with his family.

“Sir Ken was, of course, a unique figure in the history of grocery retailing in the UK, for more than half a century being the driving force at the heart of Morrisons as it grew from two market stalls to become one of the UK’s largest retailers.

“But to us he was a greatly committed and loving family man, as inspirational and central to us in our daily lives as he was in the business. His drive and ambition, quick intelligence and encyclopaedic knowledge were matched with a real curiosity in his fellow man.

“He had a gentle humour and kindness about him and he could, and would, talk with genuine interest to anyone.

“He showed us all the importance of aiming high but never forgetting the practicalities of life and the humanity of those we deal with.

“A proud Yorkshireman, he never forgot his roots and had a real love for, and commitment to, the people and city of Bradford.

“We will all miss him enormously.

“There will be a private funeral for close family only. At a later date there will also be a public occasion to celebrate Sir Ken’s life.

“In the meantime, we will make no further comment and ask that our privacy be respected at this very sad time.”

Yorkshire business leaders also paid tribute to Sir Ken.

Keith Loudon, senior partner at Leeds-based investment management and stockbroking firm Redmayne-Bentley, which had a long-standing relationship with WM Morrison having acted as its regional agent on its stock market debut in 1968.

Loudon said: “Redmayne-Bentley is sad to learn of the death of Ken Morrison. We were brokers to WM Morrison when the company was first quoted on the old Northern Stock Exchange. He was hard-working, hard-speaking – a sound Yorkshireman. He was a giant figure in the move away from the local shop to the supermarkets of today. He was a real innovator.”

Roger Marsh, chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Sir Ken was “a man who embodied everything that is great about Yorkshire.”

“His commitment to and passion for Bradford over the decades leaves behind a strong legacy for the thousands of people employed by the supermarket chain and the wider City Region whose thriving food and drink sector owes much to his enterprising spirit,” said Marsh.

“Sir Ken was a business man I have long admired and his passing is a great loss to our community. My thoughts are with his family and all those who have had the pleasure of working with him over the years.”