Morrisons in the market for Blockbuster outlets
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons is buying 49 Blockbuster DVD and video game rental shops. Morrisons is buying the outlets from the administrators Deloitte after the home entertainment business collapsed last month.
The supermarket chain will use the shops – about half of which are in London and the South-east – to speed up expansion of its fledgling Morrisons M local convenience store operation nationwide. The Bradford-based business has 12 convenience shops in North and West.
The deal will not prevent any of the job cuts announced by Deloitte but Morrisons hopes to create about 1,000 jobs as it reopens the stores, which will employ about 20 people each. A Morrisons spokesman said: “We will be delighted to see applications from former Blockbuster staff.”
The Blockbuster deal for an undisclosed sum follows Morrisons’ acquisition of seven stores from collapsed camera retailer Jessops. It is accelerating expansion plans after struggling to compete due to its small number of convenience stores and lack of a grocery delivery service. Like-forlike sales for the six weeks to December 30 fell 2.5 per cent following a 2.1 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
Morrisons is fighting back under chief executive Dalton Philips by launching an advertising campaign fronted by TV presenters Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly earlier this year and sponsoring hit ITV shows Britain’s Got Talent and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Morrisons is fighting back by sponsoring hit ITV shows Britain’s Got Talent and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Morrisons hopes to have at least 70 convenience stores by the end of 2013 while it is expected to announce the latest move towards a full-scale online food delivery service at its
annual results on March 14. Managing director of Morrisons convenience Gordon Mowat said: “We are rolling out the Morrisons M local estate at pace this year and these acquisitions give us a kick-start in securing a solid foothold in this key sector. The convenience market is growing as more people shop locally.”
The acquired stores, which are expected to open for trading by the end of the summer, are among 164 earmarked for closure by Deloitte last week, which threatens around
800 jobs and comes on top of the 168 shop closures and 760 job cuts already announced. Blockbuster, which had 528 staff and employed 4,190 staff, collapsed into
administration last month after struggling to combat competition from online rivals such as Netflix, Amazon’s LoveFilm and iTunes. Deloitte partner Lee Manning said the stores being sold to Morrisons were likely to be the first of a number of deals for Blockbuster shops, which had attracted significant interest. “We are pleased these stores have found an alternative user that can create employment,” he said.