Now Morrisons plans another new store in Iwade
by Hayley
Robinson
Morrisons only opened its Sittingbourne superstore on Monday but
it seems its interest in the area doesn’t stop there.
The supermarket giant says the former Budgens shop unit in Iwade
is a site of interest for setting up an M local corrbranch in the
south.
The franchise for Budgens came to an end last October and a sign
has been up outside the shop since saying “new store coming
soon”.
At the time, manager AJ Shazad said he was in talks with two to
three companies, including Premier, about taking on a new franchise
but nothing ever came of it.
The store has continued to trade without a name but on Saturday
night it is understood that six employees received text messages
telling them their services were no longer needed.
Meanwhile, Morrisons will only say on the record that the unit
is “one of a number of sites” it has looked at across the region
but there are clear signs the convenience store could be due to
open in the village.
A search on the website www.moreatmorrisons.co.uk
reveals a job advert for “managerial opportunities in Iwade”.
The post is also believed to be advertised on a notice board at
the Morrisons’ depot based on the other side of the A249.
The closing date for applications is tomorrow – coincidentally
the same day the retail unit is due to “change hands”.
However, the new owner is yet to be revealed.
The premises already has a liquor licence and this is likely to
transfer to the new owner.
M locals are convenience stores which usually stock freshly
prepared meat and fish, bread, fruit and vegetables plus chilled
wine and beer as well as a range of everyday items from household
essentials to magazines and cards.
Other facilities in store can include a cashpoint, National
Lottery and Health lottery kiosks as well as self-service
checkouts.
There are currently only 12 of the stores across the country –
the closest one to Kent is in Birmingham.
Morrisons opened its new store this week – six years to the day
since the former paper mill produced its last reel of paper.
Debbie Adams from Save the Children, Morrisons’ official charity
partner, marked the event on Monday by cutting a ribbon at 9am
before customers were allowed in to browse and buy goods.
The new store created 300 new jobs, 100 of which went to people
who were previously unemployed.
General manager Howard Saxby, who has worked for Morrisons for
more than 25 years, said: “We wanted to create a store that offered
customers a fantastic range of fresh products at great value to
encourage them to cook from scratch.”
30/01/13
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