Supermarket rivals look to the past and future as they face testing times
SUPERMARKET rivals Morrisons and Asda have different tests ahead of them as the sector continues to put pressure on the established players.
Morrisons’ management double-act of chairman Andrew Higginson and chief executive David Potts face their first AGM this week after they began their roles in January and March respectively.
The main focus is likely to be on the £3m-plus payout to former chief executive Dalton Philips, whose defenestration was set in train at last year’s AGM after an excoriating attack by Sir Ken Morrison.
The activist shareholder organisation Pirc – which 10 years ago was a loud voice in protests about the role of Sir Ken in running the company his father had founded – has recommended that Morrisons’ shareholders abstain from voting on the company’s pay report.
While Mr Potts has sought Sir Ken’s advice since his arrival at the Bradford-based group, the shareholders’ meeting is still expected to be tense with the performance of the Big Four supermarkets under sustained attack from discounters and from fundamental shifts in how people shop.
Asda is looking to the future as it prepares to launch the first of its click-and-collect pods this month.
The trial site, located outside St Helens, between Liverpool and Manchester, and a mile from the M6 motorway, is its first standalone site.
If successful, the concept will be rolled out across the UK while Asda’s click and collect experience is already being used to inform projects overseas by its parent company Wal-Mart.
Saeed Anslow is heading a team at Asda’s Leeds headquarters that is analysing markets outside the United States that would be suitable for click-and-collect and other ecommerce initiatives.
