Morrisons - food industry company news 
UK: Symington's in veggie launch with TV chef Rimmer
6 February 2012
UK food manufacturer Symington's has joined forces with television chef Simon Rimmer to launch a range of vegetarian meals.
Editor's choice: the highlights on just-food this week
6 February 2012
Hershey and Unilever were among the major food manufacturers that this week were the first to report their 2011 financial results. Unilever's profits inched up 1% and CEO Paul Polman pointed to the performance of its home and personal care operations - casting some questions over the prospects of its food operations. In the retail sector, this week saw the long-speculated appointment of a new CEO at Carrefour and analysts expressed concern about the outlook for Ocado despite narrowing full-year losses.
UK: BC Partners, Bain Capital in "aggressive bids" for Iceland Foods
3 February 2012
Iceland Foods, the UK frozen food retailer, has reportedly attracted bids from private-equity houses BC Partners and Bain Capital.
2012 - Savvy shoppers, online key areas of retail focus
3 February 2012
In part two of our management briefing, Sam Webb talks to experts about the possible changes to the landscape of the food retail sector in 2012, amid power shifts, market volatility, evolving shopping trends and changing consumer habits.
UK: Morrisons acquires meat facility from Vion
1 February 2012
UK retailer Morrisons today (1 February) announced an agreement to acquire a meat processing facility from the UK division of Dutch food group Vion.
UK: Iceland glitters, Tesco feels the chill - Kantar
31 January 2012
UK grocery retailer Tesco dropped market share, while Iceland put in its strongest performance in a decade, according to the latest data from Kantar Wordpanel.
UK: Kingdom Bakers enters into receivership
30 January 2012
UK-based Kingdom Bakers has gone into receivership, putting around 100 jobs on the line.
UK: McNeil adds to Benecol yoghurt range
26 January 2012
McNeil Nutritionals has added to the range of Benecol yoghurts on sale in the UK.
UK: Ex-Heineken exec named Sainsbury's marketing chief
23 January 2012
Sainsbury's has named former Heineken executive Sarah Warby as its new marketing director.
UK: Northern Foods stands by industry pledge on battery eggs
17 January 2012
Northern Foods has said that it is fully compliant with a voluntary agreement set up by the UK government urging manufacturers and retailers to abstain from using battery eggs.
Best bits: Muller faces challenges in UK milk sector
16 January 2012
Muller and Robert Wiseman Dairies are talking up the benefits of the German yoghurt maker's planned takeover of the UK milk supplier but profits in the sector have been under pressure in recent months.
UK: Morrisons' Iceland bid "in doubt"
16 January 2012
Morrisons' bid for a controlling stake in frozen food retailer Iceland Foods may falter due to competition concerns, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Comment: Values not just value must underpin Tesco revival
13 January 2012
Tesco's continuing difficulties in the UK forced the retailer to stun the City with something of a profit warning. As Chris Brook-Carter writes, the company needs to look beyond price to regain the ground lost to the likes of Sainsbury's.
Quote unquote: just-food's week in words
13 January 2012
Major UK retailers reported a bit of a mixed Christmas, with Tesco's shares sliding following a trading announcement, while Sainsbury's claimed a "record-breaking" festive period. The fortunes of US baker Hostess Brands are more clear cut. The company this week entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for a second time.
What the analysts say - City verdict on Tesco
13 January 2012
Tesco's trading update - which included another fall in UK sales - and a forecast for weak profit growth in its next financial year sent shockwaves through the City and the wider UK economy. Here, leading analysts run the rule over Tesco.
Editor's choice: highlights on just-food this week
13 January 2012
The performance of the UK food retail sector over Christmas came under scrutiny this week and there were some clear winners and losers. Elsewhere, the M&A rumour mill continued to turn, with German yoghurt giant Müller in talks to buy UK milk supplier Robert Wiseman Dairies. In the US, baker Hostess Brands applied for Chapter 11 protection for a second time, Cargill reported its worst quarter in a decade and Archer Daniels Midland announced a swathe of job cuts. On just-food's insight pages, we looked at Bi-Lo's plan to buy fellow UK retailer Winn-Dixie and at the importance of price optimisation.
On the money: Food volumes will fall again in 2012, says Sainsbury's
11 January 2012
Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King has predicted that food sales volumes will fall again in the UK in 2012 despite signs that commodity costs could be easing.
UK: Christmas drives "strong" quarter for Sainsbury's
11 January 2012
Sainsbury's said today (11 January) that its "best Christmas ever" had helped underlying sales climb over 2% in what the UK retailer described as a "strong" third quarter.
UK: Asda, Sainsbury's gain market share - Kantar
10 January 2012
Asda and Sainsbury's have increased their share of the UK grocery market, according to the latest data from Kantar Wordpanel, which includes the run-up to Christmas.
On the money: Trading to remain tough in 2012 - Morrisons
9 January 2012
Senior Morrisons executives have expressed caution about the prospects for UK food retailers in 2012.
Best bits: Morrisons sets scene for tough 2012
9 January 2012
Morrisons, the UK's number four grocer, kicked off a week in which the country's largest food retailers will report on their Christmas performance with slowing sales growth. And the company's predictions for 2012 would have made difficult reading.
UK: Asda, Aldi grow fastest in "disloyal" Christmas - Nielsen
9 January 2012
Asda and Aldi enjoyed the fastest sales growth in the UK in the run-up to Christmas, according to data issued by Nielsen.
UK: Sales growth slows at Morrisons
9 January 2012
Morrisons, the UK's fourth-largest food retailer, saw its sales growth slow over Christmas in what its chief executive described as a "very tough" market.
Quote, unquote: just-food's week in words
6 January 2012
An eventful first week of 2012 saw Baxters Food Group's chief executive handed a drink-driving ban, German retailers criticised over banana workers' rights and Nestle move its UK head office.
UK: Morrisons set for third marketing chief in a year
5 January 2012
UK retailer Morrisons is preparing for its third marketing director in 12 months with the appointment of Sainsbury's executive Rebecca Singleton.
UK: New year, more value claims from UK grocers
3 January 2012
The UK's largest grocers have started the new year with more claims that they can provide value to the country's cash-strapped shoppers.
The most-read comment articles on just-food in 2011
23 December 2011
Our comment pages in 2011 looked at Tesco's challenges in the US, the uncertainty that surrounded the country's largest dairy processor, Dean Foods, the disposals made by the UK's largest food manufacturer, Premier Foods plc, and the price war that developed between Australia's two largest retailers, Woolworths Ltd and Coles.
UK: Morrisons plans to open "hundreds" of c-stores
21 December 2011
UK supermarket giant Morrisons has pledged to create 'hundreds' of its convenience store format over the next few years.
UK: Morrisons to create 7,000 new jobs
14 December 2011
UK retailer Morrisons today (14 December) announced it will create more than 7,000 new jobs in 2012.
UK: Morrisons to launch revamped entry-level own-label next month
13 December 2011
Morrisons has confirmed that it will launch its revamped entry-level own-label range next month.
Related research
UK Consumer Insight 2010: Morrisons Food
Introduction Verdict Research UK Consumer Insights 2010 are based around individual retailers and provide a highly detailed, data-rich overview of a retailer's customers, drawing on a nationwide survey of 6,000 shoppers each year. Reasons to Purchase New analysis, unique to these reports shows details about non-converting visitors including where they main shop and who they are. Analysis by non-standard demographics is also presented to give a comprehensive picture of a retailer's customers. Key demographics include among others, sex, age, social class, television region, marital status, housing tenure, working status and ACORN group.
UK Customer Insight 2011: Morrisons - Food
UK Customer Insights 2011 are based around individual retailers and provide a highly detailed, data-rich overview of a retailer's customers, drawing on a nationwide survey of 6,000 shoppers each year.
Where Britain Shops Supermarkets 2010
Where Britain Shops 2010: Supermarkets provides a comprehensive analysis of the shopping habits of UK consumers. It presents a detailed examination of changing customer profiles as well as demographic, socio-economic and shopping around trends. It is one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, drawing on a nationwide survey of 6,000 shoppers each year. With the economic climate remaining weak and competition strong between supermarkets, understanding customer motivations is highly important.
