Last week it was reported that Morrisons was planning to close just over 100 of its company-owned convenience stores over the coming months, placing hundreds of jobs at risk.
Morrisons highlighted that the stores on the chopping block, which were acquired as part of its £190 million rescue deal for McColl’s in 2022, had been loss-making for some time.
It also noted that the stores’ performance had been “challenged for a number of years” despite efforts to boost their trading.
However, the move to axe these stores may seem like a surprising one, given that the supermarket unveiled plans to turn hundreds of corner shops throughout England into its own branded convenience stores in October.
A growing franchise model
Morrisons has roughly 1,700 Morrisons Daily stores, with a large proportion of these owned and operated by independent retailers.
In recent times, the supermarket has moved to grow a franchise model which is still expanding, according to Sky News.
Morrisons’ expansion via its convenience franchise network makes sense. According to market research firm Mintel’s UK convenience stores market report for 2026, the UK convenience store market hit an estimated £54 billion in 2025 and is expected to increase to £61.8 billion by 2030.
The report also highlighted that grocery multiples were “investing more heavily” in smaller format stores “to capture everyday missions and food-to-go spend”. It noted that this underlined “how convenience has moved to become a more central pillar of grocery strategy”.
Likewise, a July report from estate agents Savills UK claimed that UK grocers were expanding their convenience store formats to “meet shifting consumer behaviours,” particularly “the demand for speed, proximity, and flexibility in shopping”.
Morrisons’ other convenience-related moves
Despite its franchise growth, the supermarket’s 100 convenience shops in the firing line are not its first round of company-owned c-stores to be axed of late.
In March 2025 the retailer revealed plans to axe 17 convenience stores, alongside 2 cafés, all 18 of its Market Kitchens, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters, and four pharmacies as part of a major operational shake-up.
Commenting at the time, CEO Rami Baitiéh explained: “The changes we are announcing today are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth.”
More recently, Morrisons also revealed plans to restructure its convenience and general merchandise teams in March, placing around 100 roles at risk at its head office. The move effectively axed the business’s convenience buying team, according to The Grocer.
Explaining at the time, a spokesperson for the supermarket said: “To enable us to deliver a truly multichannel shopping experience for Morrisons customers, we are proposing to integrate the operation of our supermarkets and company-owned convenience stores and support office functions into a single team structure.
“The plans will allow us to leverage the existing skills and expertise we have in the business, remove duplication, simplify our store operations and capture efficiencies.”
However, they noted: “There will be no direct impact on Morrisons Daily stores.”
Additionally, Morrisons director of convenience and wholesale Matt Heslop stepped down from his role in February, after joining the business in March 2025.
Despite the “challenged” performance of Morrisons’ 100 company-owned c-stores, the supermarket also blamed the government for its decision to axe the sites.
It claimed that “significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices” such as increases to the national living wage and employer National Insurance contributions had worsened the situation.
It insisted that Labour’s budget decisions had made attempts to return the shops to profitability “even more difficult”.
So what’s next for the future of Morrisons’ convenience stores? For now, the business seems laser-focused on its franchise model.
As further incentive for its franchisees’, the company introduced “new and improved terms” for its independent retailers in July, including the chance to earn up to a six percent volume rebate, up from the previous cap of 1.5 percent.
Indeed, Morrisons’ director for wholesale convenience Paul Dobson insisted that its “new and existing franchise partners” were “pivotal” to its overall success.
“We’re excited to implement these enhanced terms for our independent retail partners and confident they will help us meet our ambitious growth plans for our Morrisons Daily estate,” he insisted.
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