Shropshire Morrisons supermarket to close down
Supermarket chain Morrisons is to shut one of its Shropshire branches as it tries to turn its fortunes around.
The branch in Telford is one of 10 "unprofitable" stores the company has earmarked for closure, with the loss of 400 jobs.
The supermarket, in Turreff Avenue, Donnington, only opened in 2011. Company bosses say they will try to reduce the number of redundancies.
News of the Donnington closure received a mixed reaction among shoppers yesterday. Ian Brice, 65, from Donnington, said he was "not surprised" that the store will be closing, saying it was more expensive compared to the nearby Aldi and Asda branches.
"I do use the store quite regularly but it has become more of a convenience store for me," he said. "But I'm not really surprised that it will be closing as it hasn't got the same floor space as some of the bigger stores, so it's just there as and when I need it."
Amanda Clay, from Donnington, said she thought Morrisons "quite expensive" compared to other supermarkets in the area. She added: "I do use the store every day, but it is not the best as it is quite expensive compared to Asda and Aldi. It's more like a convenience store to me.
"I know a lot of my friends feel the same way about it, too."
Another customer, Wendy Lutner, who is a dinner lady from Donnington, said: "I will be sorry to see the store go as I use it as a convenience store. I must use it about three or four times a week, but it is really pricey.
"I suppose when it's gone I will have to start using Aldi, but it is a shame for the staff as it isn't long since it opened."
As well as the store in Donnington, other Midlands stores that will be affected include West Bromwich and Rugby.
A Morrisons spokesman said: "We have looked extremely carefully at whether these stores can be turned around but unfortunately we cannot see a way of making them viable. We are therefore proposing their closure.
"We are consulting with colleagues and unions to reduce the risk of redundancies and we are looking at ways of redeploying colleagues around our business."
The Donnington store stands on the site of the former Champion Jockey pub.
That was demolished to make way for a Netto, but the branch later closed down and reopened as a Morrisons supermarket as part of a deal that saw Morrisons take over 16 branches of the discount store.
As part of that deal staff members were kept on and started working at the new store when it opened in May 2011.
Morrisons' chief executive Dalton Philips was sacked yesterday following poor sales.
He was forced out after the company announced the worst Christmas results of the big four grocers, with sales down 3.1 per cent in the last three months.
Mr Philips told the BBC: "I don't have another job to go to. My wife has given me a long list of chores to do."
As well as Morrisions, Sainsbury's also suffered its worst Christmas in a decade with sales down 1.7 per cent.
