Morrisons boss Rami Baitiéh has warned his workers that the supermarket requires an urgent overhaul to survive.
The CEO told staff that businesses were like “burning candles” which would burn out unless they changed, The Sunday Times reported.
The comments were made during early briefings to workers at the company’s head office.
Back in 2021, private equity giant Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) paid £7bn to acquire Morrisons, with the deal finalised before the steep hike in interest rates.
The deal has left the supermarket owing £400m of annual interest payments on £6.6bn of debt.
Executives at the struggling retailer are believed to have reiterated internally that its profits from last year were not enough to plug Morrisons’ interest bill.
Baitiéh, who joined the business from Carrefour last month, is determined to overhaul Morrisons’ performance by improving its customer service, said The Sunday Times.
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The news comes as sales at the business increased 3.7% during the 12 weeks to the end of November, making them significantly lower than the wider industry.
Insiders have claimed the executive hopes to return the supermarket to higher volumes in order to invest in reducing prices.
Improving Morrisons’ in-store availability is also thought to be a key focus.
Despite the Morrisons cashflow improving, with its underlying profits predicted to reach between £950m and £1bn this year, industry sources have questioned the grocer’s ability to kick-start growth without implementing price reductions.
CD&R hopes to implement a capital injection into the supermarket through a deal where Motor Fuel Group obtains the retailer’s 340 petrol forecourts, although discussions have continued longer than expected.
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