Morrisons
Morrisons was celebrating after scooping the top title in the annual British Turkey Awards last week.
The Bradford-based business took home the title of Retailer of the Year, beating off strong competition from Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative, with judges unanimously deciding the chain offered a great range of turkey products year-round, with Asda following a close second.
Morrisons was also successful in the Best Christmas Traditional Product, with its Fresh Turkey, while rival Asda took home the Best Christmas Premium category with its Blue Slate Turkey.
Sainsbury’s also did well on the night, with its Turkey Breast and Thigh Joint with Cranberry and Apple Stuffing, Topped with Cranberry and Apricot being declared the Best Christmas Convenience Product, while its Thigh Joint with Herb and Cranberry Crumb took the title of Best Meal Solution.
Paul Kelly, chair of the British Turkey Federation, said: “The 2014 British Turkey Awards has once again been very exciting and I would like to extend my congratulations to all the deserving producers and retailers who are working hard to put the very best turkey products on our plates both at Christmas and the rest of the year. Winning products will be flagged up to customers on packs using a British Turkey Awards winner logo to show they really are buying the best of British.”
The evening also raised money for the children’s medical charity Sparks, and Dravet Syndrome UK, with entertainment provided by comedian and television host Patrick Kielty.
The winners in full:
Best Meal Solution (sponsored by Hybrid Turkeys)
• By Sainsbury’s Thigh Joint with a Herb & Cranberry Crumb
Best Christmas Convenience Product (sponsored by Securcom)
• Sainsbury’s Turkey Breast & Thigh Joint with Pork, Cranberry & Apple Stuffing, Topped with Cranberry & Apricot
Best Christmas Traditional Product (sponsored by Easichick)
• Morrisons Fresh Whole Turkey
Best Christmas Premium Product (sponsored by Clarke Group Construction)
• Asda Butchers Selection Blue Slate Whole turkey
Best Innovation Christmas (sponsored by ABN)
• Sainsbury’s TtD Norfolk Black Free Range Turkey Parcel. Layered With Chestnut, Maple and Thyme stuffing, Cranberries and wrapped in Oak-smoked Bacon
Best Innovation All Year Round (sponsored by ABN)
• Asda Chosen by You Turkey Mini Fillets with Brie, Cranberry Sauce & Bacon
Best Foodservice Product for Cost Sector (sponsored by Noble Foods)
• The UK Foodhall Ready to Roast British Turkey Breast
Best Foodservice Product for Profit Sector (sponsored by Noble Foods)
• Mitchells & Butler – Toby Carvery – Carvery Turkey Crown
Best Ready-to-Eat Product (sponsored by Calor)
• Adlington Roasted Turkey Breast Stuffed with Ham & Wholegrain Mustard
Foodservice Operator of the Year (sponsored by Coveris)
• Mitchells & Butler – Toby Carvery
Best Blogger Recipe (sponsored by Red Tractor)
• Foodycat Alicia – Turkey B’stilla
Student Chefs of the Year (sponsored by Aviagen Turkeys)
• David Pullin of South Staffordshire College for his ‘Oasis of the Middle East’ Turkey Bonbon, Yellow Split Pea Hummus Shredded Turkey Thigh in Moroccan-Style Chutney, Saffron Couscous, Arabic Flatbread Shard and Mint Yoghurt Dip
• Jessica Marshall of Hull College for her Golden Saffron Potato Surprise with a Blanket of Rice topped with Fried Spinach and Spiced Turkey Batons coated in a Pomegranate Reduction with Ground Pistachios, surrounded by a Crab Apple and Blackberry Jam Sauce with Poached Rose-water Rhubarb
Retailer of the Year (sponsored by Zoetis)
• Morrisons
The new butchery apprenticeship standard, developed by a Trailblazer Employer Group, has received ministerial approval after “months of hard work”.
The Butchery Trailblazer Employer Group, made up of representatives from companies including Morrisons, Aubrey Allen, Fairfax Meadow, Bernard Matthews and Tulip, saw its new standard formally published on 20 August after the ministerial approval.
The standard will replace current frameworks as part of the government’s employer-driven Trailblazer Strategy.
Skills minister Nick Boles said: “Since 2010 there have been over 1.8 million apprenticeship starts and the Butchery Trailblazer is leading by example in the development and delivery of high-quality apprenticeships that give people the chance of successful careers and help businesses get the skills they need to grow.
”Lucianne Allen, chair of the Trailblazer group and sales and marketing director of Aubrey Allen, said: “This new standard will be responsive to the needs of our industry, meaning that each apprentice we train will have the skills, knowledge and behaviours we require. Our business is very much looking forward to the new standard coming into effect in 2015.”
The Food and Drink Training and Education Council (FTC), which supported the group, also offered its congratulations. Chief executive Bill Jermey said: “We are delighted to receive this announcement today, it is testimony to the hard work which the employer-led group has put into this reform.
“Today is a real milestone for the sector, one which will have a strong and positive impact on the future of the industry in terms of the way in which we can develop the skills and knowledge of young butchers. At FTC we welcome the new approach to apprenticeships that the government is taking. And we could not be more happy with the quality of this new butchery standard. Very well done to all involved.”
UK’s fourth largest retailer continues online expansion by offering delivery across parts of north London
Morrisons has expanded its online grocery delivery services across north London following a successful trial in Ruislip.
The new coverage area stretches from Ealing to Essex, and from the Thames, north to Cheshunt and Potters Bar.
It gives the UK’s fourth largest retailer an operating area of 1,297 square kilometres across London, encompassing two million homes.
“We want to challenge Londoners’ preconceived ideas of online grocery services by surprising them with just how good an experience it can be with us,” said managing director for online food, Simon Thompson.
The service offers one-hour time slots from £1.00, as well as Morrisons’ rosette rating system for product freshness and quality.
Morrisons made its first online food deliveries on 9 January of this year to homes across the Midlands, followed by Yorkshire in February and Manchester and Hull in May.
Its online proposition is in partnership with Ocado’s logistics and distribution operations. The retailer has previously committed to deliver £550 million in combined sales from its M Local convenience stores and its online business.
Announcement of Sir Ian Gibson’s intention to step down follows a loss-making year for the retailer
Morrisons chairman Sir Ian Gibson has announced that he will stand down at next year’s annual general meeting.
The news came ahead of today (5 June)’s AGM which follows a loss-making year in 2013.
A spokesperson for the retailer said it would conduct “an orderly process” to find a successor and further announcements will follow soon.
Gibson said: “This term will take me into my eighth year on the Morrisons board, and this announcement gives the board time to conduct an orderly search for a new chairman and ensure a smooth transition.”
Gibson, who joined the company as non-executive deputy chairman in September 2007, was appointed chairman following the retirement of Sir Ken Morrison in March 2008.
Last month, Morrisons revealed details of its new £1 billion price cutting campaign, launched after the group recorded a loss of £176 million in the year to February 2, 2014, after a profit of £879 million the year before.
Retailer targets greater transparency in effort to position itself as UK market’s fresh-led value food retailer
Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-largest grocery retailer, has launched an online price-checking service designed to reassure shoppers that price cuts during any particular week are not simply temporary promotions designed to boost sales in a particular week.
The move follows the company’s recent announcement that it was going to be “permanently cheaper” by pursuing a strategy of price reductions on 1,200 everyday essential items in order to build its reputation as a fresh-led value grocer.
Industry analyst MySupermarket.com, which is running the service, will monitor price reductions across Morrisons’ entire range and publish its findings on the website, providing visual illustrations of individual products’ pricing history.
Shoppers will be able to look at any of the products on offer and check the retailer hasn’t in fact put prices up.
Commenting on the new price transparency website, Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips said: “We’re serious about getting cheaper and setting new standards in transparency of pricing. We want our customers to be proud of the products they buy and be reassured that they are cheaper. We have nothing to hide.”
The cheaper prices are already being communicated to customers through a new marketing campaign with the strap line ‘I’m Your New Cheaper Morrisons’.
Retail group’s decision to slash prices permanently on more than 1000 products seen as sign of discounters’ growing influence in the UK
A major round of price cuts unveiled by British retail chain Morrisons on a wide range of grocery items – including fresh fruit and vegetables – is being viewed as a move designed to head off increasing competition from the fresh food offer presented by German discounters in the UK.
The group said the launch of the I’m Cheaper campaign, heralded by television and print advertising, as well as the distribution of free fruit outside the chain’s London Bridge branch, marked “the start of a new cheaper Morrisons”, with prices cut on around 1,200 of its customers’ favourite products, including apples, pears, citrus, tomatoes and carrots.
A new website, powered by mysupermarket.co.uk, will also allow shoppers to view a product’s pricing history, a move clearly aimed at facing up to the discounters as well as the price-driven approach already adopted by rival chain Asda.
“Not temporary reductions or supermarket smoke and mirrors, these are new every day low prices on the things you buy every week,” the company declared. “So you’ll notice the difference with every shop.”
A pack of five or six vine-ripened tomatoes, for example, has been reduced permanently to £0.99 from £1.69, while loose tomatoes will now be sold at £1.55 per kg instead of £1.99 per kg.