Morrisons chief executive Potts steps down after nine years

The boss of Morrisons is stepping down as the grocer battles stiff competition from discount rivals in the wake of its private equity takeover.

David Potts, who became chief executive nine years ago and oversaw the £7bn sale to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2021, will hand over to ex-Carrefour France boss Rami Baitieh in November.

Analysts described Potts as part of a generation of great grocers and said his departure represented ‘a key moment’ for the industry.

Chief executive David Potts steps down after nine years in the role 

Potts, who started his supermarket career on a Tesco delicatessen counter in Ashton-under-Lyne as a teenager, said the Morrisons job had been the ‘privilege of my working life’.

He said discussions have been ongoing with Morrisons chairman Sir Terry Leahy over a new chief executive since the takeover by CD&R two years ago.

Potts said: ‘We had a clear understanding that I was prepared to devote several more years to Morrisons if that was required, but that if an outstanding suc- cessor was identified who could lead Morrisons for the long term, then I would step down.’

After taking a ‘short break’ with his family, including his two sons, Potts said he would ‘look for further ways to contribute to business and to the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic’.

Baitieh, who was born in Lebanon and moved to France for university, joined Carrefour in 1995.

He climbed the ranks to the top job in 2020, overseeing 5,800 stores.

After leaving Carrefour in August, Baitieh spent the summer ‘relearning to enjoy the simple things in life’ according to a post on his own Instagram page.

This included the opening of the Rugby World Cup in Paris. He was also on the ‘jury’ for the Miss Paris 2023 contest in June.

Baitieh said: ‘Morrisons holds a special place for shoppers across the UK, and I am honoured to be joining the business to help build on the strong links the company has with its loyal customers.’

In February of this year, The Mail on Sunday revealed that CD&R had recruited headhunter Egon Zehnder to look for candidates for top jobs at Morrisons.

Tesco executive Jason Tarry was rumoured to be one of the individuals approached to replace Potts.

The 2021 takeover was a debtfuelled deal spearheaded by former Tesco boss Leahy, who was working for CD&R. Morrisons has been haemorrhaging cash and losing market share since it fell into private equity hands two years ago.

The Bradford-based grocer racked up £1.5bn of losses in the year after it was bought, Companies House filings revealed this year. Last October it was knocked off the top spot as Britain’s fourth largest grocer by discounter Aldi, according to insights firm Kantar.

In the latest tranche of data, Morrisons held an 8.6pc slice of the market – down from 10pc in

October 2021. It was criticised for its relatively high prices when customers were first feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis.

Its latest results yesterday showed sales rose 3pc in the third quarter of the year.

Retail analyst Clive Black, from Shore Capital, described the departure of Potts as ‘a key moment in the history of British grocery retailing’.

Aldi’s plan to target the middle class ALDI is targeting middle class areas and university towns and cities as it ramps up its expansion.

Having overtaken Morrisons to become the country’s fourth-largest grocer, Aldi wants to open 500 more UK stores in the coming years to take the total to 1,500.

Part of the plan includes spending £1.4bn over the next two years on new sites and refurbishing existing ones as well as expanding its distribution network.

Aldi’s list of target areas includes parts of London – from Kensington to Hackney – as well as university towns and cities such as Newcastle, Nottingham, Cambridge, Birmingham, Cardiff and York. Other areas include Penzance, Bath, Maidenhead and Harrogate.

Shoppers have flocked to discounters Aldi and Lidl over the past year due to higher living costs.

Aldi said yesterday it was looking for sites in town centres or ‘edgeof-centre’ as well as retail parks.

It has been a year since Aldi leapfrogged Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-biggest supermarket. Aldi held 10.1pc of the market in the three months to September 3, according to research firm Kantar.

Richard Thornton, communications director at Aldi UK, said: ‘We are committed to continue investing until we can bring our quality products and unbeatable prices to as many people as possible.’

And Aldi chief executive Giles Hurley said he thought affordable food was a ‘right’ and not a ‘privilege’.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk