Morrisons strikes £1bn McColl's deal; to revive Safeway brand

British Suparmarket Morrisons has agreed a long-term fresh produce and grocery supply deal with convenience store operator McColl’s.
The deal also marks the revival of the Safeway brand after more than a decade, with McColl’s to be given exclusive access to its more than 400 fresh, frozen and ambient food products for a one-year period.
The supermarket group will provide the convenience chain with Safeway products and national brands across its 1,300 convenience stores and 350 newsagents in the UK.
The announcement comes more than 13 years after the Yorkshire based supermarket giant acquired Safeway in a £3bn deal in March 2004.
Chief Executive of McColl’s, Jonathan Miller said, “The partnership is a ‘defining moment’ for the company and builds on the ‘transformational deal’ made last year after they grew their estate by acquiring 298 Co-op stores.”
He said: “In McColl’s, Morrisons gain a long-term partner of significant scale with a growing neighbourhood convenience estate, and in Morrisons we gain access to their best-in-class sourcing and manufacturing capabilities.”
“This will enable us to provide our customers with the highest quality fresh food through the relaunch of the much loved and trusted Safeway brand,” he added.
Chief Executive, Morrisons, David Potts said: “We are also pleased to be reviving the Safeway brand which we know customers will enjoy.”
He added: “Wholesale supply will help make us a broader, stronger business.”
Morrisons said that by the end of 2018 it expects its wholesale sales to top 700 million pounds including tobacco, with that figure rising above 1 billion pounds in due course.