Morrisons is to resurrect the Safeway brand as a range of ‘hundreds’ of products, including bread and baked goods, which will be available to independent retailers.
The retailer has also announced it is to pilot its convenience store offer, Morrisons Daily, in 10 Rontec petrol stations.
Originally a chain of supermarkets and c-stores, Safeway was acquired by Morrisons in 2004. It sold off some of the sites and converted the others to the Morrisons brand, with the last Safeway fascia taken down in November 2005.
Resurrected as an exclusive product range, the Safeway line-up will include bread and other fresh baked goods that are expected to be produced through the Morrisons-owned Rathbones Bakery in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
These will be available from early next year through wholesalers and independent retailers.
Morrisons chief executive David Potts described the new Morrisons Daily stores and Safeway product range as a ‘capital-light’ way of growing the business in the convenience food market.
“By working with well-established partners and reviving the Safeway brand, we are making our products more accessible to more customers,” he added.
Morrisons said the reintroduction of the Safeway brand would enable it to “leverage its sourcing and unique food-maker skills”.
Meanwhile, four Morrisons Daily shops are set to open in Rontec petrol stations before Christmas, with a further six coming in January.
The shops will be up to 3,000sq ft in size and will sell branded and Morrisons own-label products. These will be supplied by Morrisons via wholesaler Palmer & Harvey, which has worked with Rontec for more than 40 years.
The retailer is already trialling its Morrisons Daily convenience offer with another forecourt operator, Motor Fuel Group.
Morrisons sold 140 of its M local convenience stores for £25m in cash, to a team led by retail entrepreneur Mike Greene and backed by Greybull Capital LLP. These sites were rebranded as My Local, but the new business entered administration this February.
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