Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-largest grocer, has snapped up 49 former Blockbusters stores as it continues to expand its fledgling network of convenience outlets.
The deal, struck for an undisclosed sum, follows Morrisons’ move earlier this month to buy eight stores formerly part of another failed UK retailer, the camera firm Jessops.
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Morrisons said the former Blockbusters outlets would give it a “significant number of high street and neighbourhood locations across the country, particularly in South East England”. The company hopes to have the outlets trading by the end of the summer.
Alongside the deal, Morrisons announced a change to the name of its convenience stores. Morrisons opened its first M Local outlet in April 2011 but has opted to tweak the banner to Morrisons M Local.
Morrisons, which has been slower to build a network of convenience stores when compared to rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s, wants to open “at least” 70 of the outlets by the end of 2013.
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By GlobalData
