Morrisons group wholesale and convenience director Matt Heslop is to leave the supermarket after less than a year in the role.
Heslop joined Morrisons in March 2025 after over 20 years at Lidl, with a view to leading its convenience store expansion, which has become a major strand of Rami Baitiéh’s ambition to restore Morrisons’ market share.
His plans to depart the business were first reported by Retail Week, and later confirmed to The Grocer by Morrisons.
“After much careful consideration, Matt Heslop has made the decision to leave the business,” confirmed a Morrisons spokesman.
“We want to thank Matt for everything he has done to improve and expand our convenience business. He has been key in driving forward our offering for customers and we thank him for all his contributions,” the spokesman added.
Prior to joining Morrisons, Heslop held a number of senior roles at discounter Lidl, including an eight-year spell as chief operating officer.
He had been set to join Asda to lead the rollout of its Asda Express network before it was announced he was joining Morrisons in February 2025.
His departure comes with Morrisons in the midst of a new convenience offensive, with plans to open as many as 300 new Morrisons Daily stores a year, under its COCO (company-owned company operated) and FOFO (franchise owned franchise operated) strategy.
Morrisons currently has around 1,700 c-stores, and the channel is seen by CEO Baitiéh as its core route to accelerate growth as part of his turnaround plan. Adding 300 Daily stores would be equivalent to opening around 10 full-sized supermarkets a year.
Morrisons convenience strategy is understood to remain unchanged despite Heslop’s departure. The supermarket is actively looking for Heslop’s replacement.
“We wish Matt every success in the future, he will continue to be a friend of Morrisons,” the Morrisons spokesman added.
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