Morrisons Daily store opens in Banff as plans for supermarket continue to progress
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A new Morrisons Daily store has opened on Banff High Street replacing the McColl's shop.
It is part of a number of its outlets that have rebranded, which is part of the company's strategy.
McColl's has had Morrisons' Safeway brand on around 400 product lines in more than 1300 stores since January 2018 and it has now decided to take the wholesale agreement further by rebranding shops to Morrisons Daily.
Morrisons has confirmed it has no affect on its plans to build a new store at Banff's Canal Park.
A spokesman for the supermarket firm said: "The opening of the Morrisons Daily does not change Morrisons current proposals for delivering a brand new, purpose-built Morrisons store in Banff and plans are progressing with Aberdeenshire Council.
"The Morrisons Daily store is operated by a franchisee and is not owned or operated by Morrisons."
Rachel Kennedy from the Save Canal Park group said: "We understand that revitalising the high street with a collection of smaller shops is a much better and more sustainable option for communities, than building on green open spaces needed for recreation like Canal Park."
Meanwhile, Lidl has earmarked the town as a location for a new supermarket.
The firm has announced that it is calling on the Scottish public for support in identifying sites for new stores across Scotland.
The discounter, which is investing £1.3 billion in its expansion across 2021 and 2022, has revealed that it is offering a finder’s fee to members of the public who successfully identify suitable sites for new Lidl stores.
The fee is either 1.5 per cent of the total freehold purchase price or 10 per cent of the first year’s rent for leaseholds, which would equate to £22,500 for a completed £1.5 million site purchase.
The announcement comes as Lidl publishes its annual list of locations across the country where it is interested in acquiring sites for potential store developments.
Since the beginning of 2022, Lidl has already opened 23 new stores across the UK. In March 2022 it became the sixth largest supermarket in the country.
Chief development officer at Lidl GB Richard Taylor said: “We know that the majority of Scottish shoppers still love doing their shopping in person and we are as committed as ever to opening new stores and enhancing our existing ones.
"We’re opening an average of one new store a week, which is incredible, and our teams have done a phenomenal job of keeping that pace going over the last couple of years.
"But there are still communities up and down the country that are telling us how much they want – and need – a Lidl store.
"We work with some of the best people in the industry to identify new sites, but we also know how engaged our future and existing customers are and we want to build on this.
"Our finder’s fees are, therefore, available to absolutely anyone that can identify a viable option for a new store that we’re not already aware of, and we welcome any suitable suggestions that will help up us to meet our ambitious target of 1100 stores by the end of 2025.”
Members of the public who know of potential sites are encouraged to check details against Lidl’s site requirements and contact the supermarket’s property team with further details. More information can be found at www.lidl.co.uk/about-us/property
