13th Mar 2008 07:01
Morrison(Wm.)Supermarkets PLC13 March 2008 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Retirement of Sir Ken Morrison The Board of Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC announces that effective from 13thMarch 2008, Sir Ken Morrison will retire as Chairman and Director of thecompany. Sir Ian Gibson, currently Deputy Chairman, will succeed him, asnon-executive Chairman. Sir Ian said: "Sir Ken is the outstanding example of a truly great retailer.His achievements in scale and length of service are remarkable. It is aprivilege to take the role of Chairman." Sir Ken has accepted the position of Honorary President. In this ambassadorialrole, he will continue the strong relationship with employees, communities andshoppers which has characterised his long and distinguished career. The full text of a tribute to Sir Ken from the Board of Wm Morrison Supermarketsplc is presented below: "We are proud to pay tribute to Sir Ken Morrison on his retirement from theCompany after 55 years of inspirational and dedicated leadership. During thistime he has transformed Morrisons from a small, family business into the UK'sfourth largest food retailer and a top five food producer, with 375 storesand 117,000 colleagues, serving over nine million customers a week. An intuitive retailer, Sir Ken's passion and flair were evident from his earlyyears, when during school holidays he could always be found working in thefamily's market stalls and small shops. This hands-on approach hascharacterised his career, throughout which he has never been happier than whenout on the shop floor, taking a personal interest in ensuring customers' needsare met. Sir Ken has always had customers as his focus; not as a businesstechnique, but as a lifelong part of his character, forming his view of whatMorrisons should be. Through bold and innovative leadership Sir Ken has created and built thebusiness, from establishing the first out of town self-service supermarket inBradford, through to expansion nationwide with the acquisition and integrationof Safeway, which involved the biggest store conversion programme in UK retailhistory. He has given Morrisons a leading edge with creative in-store featureslike 'Market Street' and a uniquely vertically integrated structure, togetherwith a competitive offer renowned for always delivering great value for money.Sir Ken's determination to avoid cost and waste throughout his career hasunderpinned the commitment to that goal. Sir Ken has won the loyalty and admiration of employees throughout the businesswith his down-to-earth nature and belief in team work; and his pride in theachievements of those around him has never been more apparent than in his desireto attend each and every one of the Company's 25-year service celebrations.Suppliers also hold Sir Ken in high regard and having always shown greatempathy, he has nurtured many mutually beneficial, long-standing relationshipsthat have seen both businesses grow together. Under Sir Ken's stewardship, Morrisons has received wide recognition from thebusiness world, winning many awards. His personal contribution has also beendeservedly recognised on many occasions. Having received a number of industryaccolades, he was awarded the CBE in 1990 and honoured with a Knighthood in 2000for his services to retailing. Sir Ken is a consummate retailer and his achievements are remarkable. Hiswholehearted devotion and strength of purpose over five decades have takenMorrisons from modest beginnings, to national household name. A creator andbuilder with great passion and flair, his contribution to retailing has beeninvaluable and we owe him a great debt of gratitude for his life's work. We areprivileged to have known and worked with Sir Ken and those following in hisfootsteps will cherish his legacy of success. We wish Sir Ken a well-earned and long and happy retirement." Enquiries Wm Morrison SupermarketsMarc BollandRichard Pennycook 0845 611 5000 Investor RelationsNiall Addison 07764 624701 Media RelationsWm Morrison Supermarkets: Gillian Hall 0845 611 5359 Citigate Dewe Rogerson: Simon Rigby 020 7638 9571 Sarah Gestetner This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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