British supermarket chain Morrisons has appointed Gordon Mowat as its new group property and strategy director. He will also join the firm's board.
Having moved to the retailer from consultancy firm McKinsey three years ago, he previously held the positions of strategy director and head of Morrisons M local convenience operations.
He oversaw the M local stores expansion, which included the conversion of 49 Blockbuster stores to the format. Morrisons plans to have around 170 M local stores open by the end of 2014.
Mowat will now take up responsibly for the retailer's property portfolio of stores, distribution centres and production sites, along with driving the business strategy. Morrisons plans to raise £1 billion in property sales between now and 2016.
Moffat will take over the postion from Terry Hartwell who resigned earlier this month.
Speaking in Mowat's appointment, Dalton Philips, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “Gordon and his team have built a convenience business from scratch. He is a proven business operator and knows the property world well. He will be focused on continuing to expand our convenience business; filling in the gaps in our supermarket footprint and optimising the cashflow from our property assets.”
In other news, Morrisons recently selected Profitero's competitor market data solution Price Intelligence to help it match its online shopper’s favorites items – their usual list of purchases at other supermarkets. The move means online shoppers can now import their shopping list into the Morrisons’ website, easing their switch from one online grocery provider to its own offering.
Morrisons launched its online grocery website earlier this year.
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