M Kitchen, M savers and M Mm Morrison are among the sub-brands set to feature in Morrisons' new look own-label range, The Grocer can reveal.

Morrisons announced plans to redevelop its own-label ranges in May and the first products are expected to hit shelves next month.

The retailer has registered the names with the UK Patent Office and a Morrisons spokesman confirmed this week that it planned to use these on products the clearest sign yet that it is planning to move away from a strict 'good, better, best' model.

As it announced its results on Thursday, it said it had identified areas for improvement "where Morrisons was perceived to lack product range". It cited ready meals as a key example and said it would launch a major range extension in the third quarter.

M Savers, which is likely to be a budget range, has been registered across all food and drink categories as well as household and personal care, while M Mm Morrison and M Kitchen only cover food. M Kitchen is expected to be a premium range developed by executive chef Neil Nugent. It is also the name for a new development kitchen being built at its Bradford HQ.

Morrisons delivered welcome good news for the retail sector with a 9% jump in pre-tax profits to £449m on sales up 7.4% for the six months to 31 July. Like-for-like sales were up 2.2%, which Morrisons said was 0.8% ahead of the market.

"In a tough economy shoppers are looking for unbeatable value on fresh food, great deals on national brands and the best prices at the pump," said chief executive Dalton Philips.

Topics