Morrisons has acquired a stake in a US grocery business in a deal which will see CEO Dalton Philips join the company's board.

Aspart of its online development, Morrisons – the only one of the big four supermarkets not to have a significant internet business – revealedit had invested £32m (€37m) in a 10 per cent stake of New York-based online grocer, FreshDirect.

The Bradford-based retailer vowed to catch up with its online rivals offering a food and non-food service within the next two years.

The supermarket posted a 13 per cent increase in underlying pre-tax profits of £869m (€1bn) in the year to 30 January.

FreshDirect was launched in 2002 and serves 600,000 customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Morrisonsis implementing a growth strategy which is focused on expanding its e-commerce business and moving into the convenience store market. It hasearmarked £3bn (€3.5bn) in investment over the next three years.

Morrisonsalso revealed it would open three convenience stores, around 3,000ft2 in size, in July under the name M Local. The shops will be located inMorrisons' heartland in the north of England.

The company said the convenience business was the second-fastest growing part of the market. Rival models include Tesco Metro and Sainsbury's Local.

Topics