Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced plans to move into Oswestry.

The firm is set to take over the town’s existing Somerfield store after purchasing the Station Road supermarket from the Co-Operative Group, subject to confirmation from the Office of Fair Trading. 

The move comes as Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, announced record trading over Christmas, with sales jumping 8.2 per cent.

Staff have been briefed about the purchase and those currently working at the store will join Morrisons. 

Mark Gunter, Morrisons group store operations director, said: “We are delighted to announce we have agreed to purchase this store from the Co-Operative Group. 

“We look forward to serving the people of Oswestry and bringing our fresh, quality and value products to new customers. 

“We would also like to welcome our new colleagues.

“In the coming weeks, we look forward to holding welcome meetings, one-to-one sessions and full company inductions, that will inform them all about our business and what joining Morrisons will mean for them,” he said.

“This will be in addition to offering comprehensive training.”

Outperformed

The purchase is one of the 38 new store acquisitions announced by Morrisons. 

A date for the new store opening has not yet been confirmed.

Morrisons also announced today that it outperformed rival supermarkets in December, saying its focus on fresh food and promotional offers had seen sales rise in its 382 stores, which include sites in Wellington, Shrewsbury, Market Drayton and Welshpool.

Morrisons notched up its highest ever market share in the 12 weeks to December 28, with Sainsbury’s posting a like-for-like sales rise of 4.5 per cent over the Christmas period, while Tesco managed an improvement of 2.5 per cent. 

The company said its expectations for 2008/9 profits remained unchanged following the Christmas trading update. 

It said: “We remain cautious on the outlook for consumer spending and we expect the market to remain challenging. 

“In this environment we believe Morrisons value credentials will serve us and our customers well.”

By Suzanne Roberts