McColl’s is to convert 300 of its stores to the Morrisons Daily brand, bringing enhanced competition to nearby stores, especially in fresh and chilled.

The move will see more than one in four McColl’s sites trading under the Morrisons brand.

While still owned and operated by McColl’s, the chosen sites, thought to be the larger McColl’s stores, will offer “a full Morrisons convenience range”.

McColl’s proceeds with shift to convenience

The 31 McColl’s sites already switched to the format are the “strongest” performing in the convenience chain’s entire estate, which it said is due to greater grocery sales, a fuller convenience offering and competitive pricing.

All 1,200 McColl’s-operated stores are now using Morrisons as their sole supplier, with its wholesale deal with the major supermarket now extended by three years to 2027.

McColl’s chief executive Jonathan Miller said it would support its “strategic goal of increasing our fresh food offering in our store estate while offering the best value for money for our customers”.

One Stop promotions attack McColl’s

Independent stores have also secured wholesale supply agreements with Morrisons through its ‘Morrisons Bulk Purchase’ arm.

Despite the sales success (up 7.9% for the 12 weeks to 21 February), McColl’s again reported lower sales of higher-margin impulse lines were leading to “lower gross margins”.

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