Fresh News December 2016

The magazine for Morrisons colleagues

OUR finalists

C e l e b r at i n g

s u cc e ss

Putting our best food makers and shopkeepers to the test at Mastercraft p11

New Year and Hogmanay • Long Service Awards • Nutmeg women’s range and much more…

5 points

Fi ve po int s to

r… be m e c De tak this s e aw w ay from Fresh Ne

At their service We said a big thank you to our long-serving colleagues with special events in Glasgow, Manchester, Colchester, Reading and Leeds.

Read more on p18-19

Making their mark We’re food makers and shopkeepers, and some of our very best competed to be crowned champion of their craft in our annual Mastercraft competition.

Read more on p11-14

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’Tis the season We’re stocking and selling to give our customers what they need to keep the celebrations going with special ranges for New Year and Hogmanay.

Read more on p7-9

4 The choice is ours It’s almost time to pick our next charity partner. Here’s your opportunity to get to know Age UK and CLIC Sargent before voting in January’s Your Say forum.

Read more on p10

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Looking good!

The designs are chosen and production is well underway as we get ready to launch our brand new Nutmeg women’s range in February 2017.

Read more on p16-17

clothing designed for life

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Our cover stars this month are our Mastercraft finalists Fresh News is produced by Morrisons Company Communications and designed by scarlettabbott – 01904 633399 | scarlettabbott.co.uk

welcome

Three p11

In the mag...

4 News 6 Celebrate good times 7 The Best New Year

We’ve got lots of reasons to celebrate during Christmas, New Year and Hogmanay, and we’re making the festivities extra special for our customers, their families and friends.

25-YEAR LONG SERVICE AWARDS

10 New charity partner 11 Mastercraft 15 Unsold Food 16 Nutmeg women’s range 18 Long service awards 20 Giving something back 22 The social

rom the January sales to Chinese New Year, you can see all the highlights we’ve got to look forward to in our calendar (p6).

As our customers gather together with friends and families to celebrate the start of 2017, we’re making sure they have everything they need to do it in style. We’re bringing much-loved local food like Bells loaf cakes and Mackie’s ice cream to our Scottish stores, and stocking award-winning wines and The Best New Year party food across the UK (p7-8).

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We make Morrisons

Get in touch Here’s how you can contact us:

Save a stamp and post internally to Company Communications Email your stories and pictures to company.communications @morrisonsplc.co.uk To sign up to Colleague Facebook email facebook@ morrisonsplc.co.uk

FSC logo here

One of the biggest events of our year is Mastercraft, our annual competition to find the best of the best. Last month, skilled colleagues from across our stores and sites came together to take part. In front of colleagues at Hilmore House, the finalists took on various challenges including blind taste testing for our Wine finalists and the speed bouquet challenge for our Flowershop colleagues. Mastercraft celebrates our talents as food makers and shopkeepers (p11).

We’ve also been recognising the contribution our long-serving colleagues have made to our business.

They celebrated their 25-year milestones at special events up and down the country (p18).

Our The Best products are being recognised too – our The Best Gold Smoked Salmon in the Supermeat & Fish Christmas product awards, and The Best British Lamb Guard of Honour with Whiskey & Orange Glaze and Citrus Crust. What’s really great is that

our The Best Christmas products have also been accredited by Good Housekeeping.

And speaking of awards, we recently won National Café Chain of the Year. It’s a testament to the hard work of all our café colleagues, and with 200 more refits planned for next year, there could be even more success on the horizon (p4).

Joining in the celebrations As well as being proud of our people and our products, we can be just as proud of the fundraising we do to help our local and national communities. Through our Unsold Food programme, we’ve donated 1.5 million products to charities and community groups since February.

Every week, more than 420 of our stores give the equivalent of two full trolleys of fruit and veg, bread, and tinned and packet food to people who really need it (p15).

And in January, we can vote for our new charity partner (p10). Here’s to a successful 2017.

Putting all of our reasons to celebrate together, it shows that we make Morrisons – and that’s the biggest reason of all to celebrate.” december2016

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The latest news from right around our business.

We’re introducing more premium products so our customers don’t need to shop anywhere else.

My Spa is our new, indulgent bath and beauty range that’s exclusive to us.

Let’s treat ourselves or the first time we’ve introduced a premium range of bath and beauty products for customers who are looking to treat themselves, family and friends.

My Spa hit the shelves last month, just in time for Christmas. The range includes hand creams, body butters and our unique fragrances Lotus Flower & Orange Blossom and Coconut & Frangipani Flower.

“We’ve done lots of extensive market research over the past two years, and we know that more customers have been looking to treat themselves to a bit of ‘me time’ or buy high-quality gifts for

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family and friends. Until now, they’ve had to go elsewhere to get them,” says Rachel Jones, Category Manager for Health & Change Management.

Pamper-heaven at home “We’re really excited about stocking and selling exactly what our customers want.

It’s a chance for them to pick up something special that’s great value,” adds Rachel.

“We know the quality of our products is second to none, because we did blind tests with customers to make sure our exclusive fragrances compared with ranges offered by other supermarkets, as well as high-street retailers.”

Spa you feeling lucky?

To celebrate the launch, we’re giving you the chance to win a hamper of My Spa products.

All you need to do is answer the following question: Which two unique fragrances have we developed for My Spa? Email your answers to holly.komzolik@ morrisonsplc.co.uk Good luck!

Closing date: 15 January 2017

We’re just their cup of tea! round 37.5 million customers choose to visit our cafés A each year. And it’s thanks to our good quality food, great value and the service we offer them every day that we won the National Café Chain of the Year award.

Julie Boyes, who’s worked at our York store café for nine years, says: “I love working in our Market Street Café. It’s lovely saying ‘hi’ to our regulars or helping a busy customer out with a cuppa, so I’m over the moon that we won the award.”

With new cafés opening in Goole and Loughborough in the New Year, as well as refits planned in over 200 stores,

#ThankYou If you’ve thanked someone, let us know at yoursay@ morrisonsplc.co.uk Thanks!

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Simon ?

Skinner, Bridlington After a much-loved regular elderly customer had a cardiac arrest in store, Simon gave him CPR and saved his life. The customer then came back to thank Simon.

2017 is set to be an even bigger success.

“Our cafés are extremely valued by our customers. That’s why we’re so committed to improving them,” Sam Wells, Head of Trading, says. “I’d like to say congratulations to our Market Street Café teams – this award is thanks to them.”

Did you know?

We have cafés in 400 of our stores

For the price point and full plates, this café is a crowd pleaser for sure.”

STEPHEN MINALL, CAFÉ QUALITY FOOD AWARDS JUDGE

Sabine Tempest, Hilmore Sabine helped Hull Store Manager Steve Dodd find the right supplier to repair some vital equipment in the Bakery – and make sure we could keep serving customers.

business news

Tips of the

Trade

We want everyone to have the opportunity to learn new skills, either for a new role or to do our jobs even better. That’s why it’s important that we invest in our training and development activities.

very week, from October to December, our Trading Team, who work with suppliers to buy the right products at the right price for our customers, attended the My Job and Ways of Working programmes.

The three-day course was the start of a longer-term programme for the Trading Team. It helped them understand what’s expected of them in their roles, how to grow as leaders and improve ways of working with suppliers, customers and other teams within the business.

There’s a lot packed into the three days, including negotiation skills and reviewing our products against our competitors’.

More than 250 colleagues in the Trading Team have taken part in the course so far, including Jane Lancaster, Category Manager for Home and Leisure.

“We talked to Store Managers and Suppliers about how we can work closer together to serve our customers better and to ensure we visit sites and stores more often. We also came up with ways to simplify and speed up how we bring our six priorities to life with our new ways or working,” says Jane. “It’s definitely the best course I’ve been on.”

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Women

in Business

e want to be a top career choice for women.

60 Manchester Business School students competed in a Dragon’s Den style pitch to get the chance to visit us in October.

The successful group of 15 met with directors across Retail, People, Trading, Manufacturing and

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Commercial, as well as managers from our stores, to understand the great work we’re doing to grow our business. They also visited our Cutler site where they learned about how we’re investing in quality produce to keep our customers happy.

Lee Stainsby, Darlington Morton Park Lee went out of his way to help a regular customer who didn’t seem well, following a car accident a few days before, get his shopping. He also arranged for the shopping to be dropped off at home.

“We pride ourselves on our equal opportunities ethos so it was fantastic to share our experiences with these budding businesswomen.”

Rhona Quin, Head of Technical ManufacturE

If you’re concerned at the thought of the pressure your finances might be under this festive season, retailHUB can help.

Christmas is an expensive time of year, and if you’re finding it hard to cope, retailHUB is on hand with free and confidential financial advice, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They can help with: • Budgeting and debt advice • Benefits, savings and debt repayment calculations • Expert guidance from trained advisors.

They’ll even help you access non-repayable hardship grants so you can get through a particularly tough time in your life.

It’s free financial support specifically for colleagues who work in the retail industry.

How to get in touch Call 0808 801 0808 (no registration required) Click retailtrust.org.uk/finance Text 88010 Email helpline@retailtrust.org.uk

James Neill, Rushden With a British Retail Consortium audit approaching, James stayed late to check stock was stored correctly in the warehouse.

Rushden passed the audit and retained its AA status.

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christmas events

c e l e b r at e The festive celebrations don’t stop at Christmas.

From exciting new ranges to free breakfasts, we’ve got plenty planned to keep the party going.

26th December

January sale STARTS 1st January

31st December – 2nd January

Hogmanay 8th January

Free New Year’s Day breakfast

Stores reset and cleaned up after Christmas

for colleagues who are working

16th January

Eat Smart range launches

Big Night In range launches

You’ll find out more Soon

You’ll find out more Soon

23rd January

Valentine’s Day IS in seasonal aisle

#ThankYou If you’ve thanked someone, let us know at yoursay@ morrisonsplc.co.uk Thanks!

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16th January

Mel wright, Maldon After a customer’s two-year-old son choked on a sweet, Mel helped change him into clean clothes and calmed his mum down.

T h a n k you for a gre at 2 0 1 6 a nd here ’ s to a successful 2 0 1 7 !

Find out more about these events and activities from your manager All colleagues, Alnwick Amy Snaith said a big thank you on Facebook to her colleagues for their support while her husband, who also works at the store, had been in hospital.

the best

With Christmas, New Year and Hogmanay just around the corner, we’ve introduced 20 new items as part of The Best range, so our customers can celebrate the festive season and treat family and friends. hristmas, New Year and Hogmanay are C times when our customers want to treat themselves to something special,” says Sean Gill, Buyer – Fresh Ready Meals. “Platters are more popular around New Year, when people are socialising and have friends and family to visit.

So, we’ve introduced new lines like The Best Prawn Selection, The Best Mini Pulled Beef Wellingtons and The Best Vegetable Tempura Nests with Sweet Chilli Dip.” Most of The Best products are already in stores and they’ll have their own signage so customers can find them easily.

Cool party

In October, we launched 32 new party food items, all accredited

by Good Housekeeping, in our frozen range. Eight of these products are from The Best premium brand, including our The Best Bruschettas, which feature a variety of flavours including Goat’s Cheese, and Red Onion & Monterey Jack Cheese & Chorizo.

“We’ve focused on quality this year, while keeping prices low, to give our customers the best possible value,” says Sarah Bell, Buyer – Frozen.

“Something else we’re doing differently this year is bringing a ‘Christmas Shop’ to our frozen aisles, with two doors of party food and two doors of The Best frozen products.

It lets our customers know we’re the place to come We also have The Best to help celebrate pre-packed cheese, which the New Year we know customers with a bang.” love to serve around New Year

Say cheese!

LUCY BENSON, DEESIDE Lucy went the extra mile to create some eye-catching boards to promote #ThankYou, My Performance and Career Plan at her site.

All colleagues, Ripon Ripon store colleagues helped seven families whose homes were evacuated after a sinkhole opened up behind their houses. They provided meals for the families while they lived in temporary hostels.

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party celebrations

Look out ay for our Hogman , party TV advert ay ond which airs on M r 26th Decembe in Scotland

At this time of year we kn celebrate and we’re making sure to keep the party going this his year we’re making more of New Year’s Eve than ever before.

We listened to customers all over the country and responded by introducing products we know will help them celebrate.

In Scotland, for example, we’re stocking a range of traditional products like Bells Loaf Cakes and a new range of Hogmanay bouquets.

“When our Scottish stores open on 27th December, we’ll be set up to offer our customers everything they need to celebrate this Hogmanay,” says Josie Miller, Local Solutions Marketing Manager – Scotland. “We’re also inviting colleagues in our Scottish stores to celebrate by adding a touch of tartan to their uniforms to mark the occasion.”

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r Local products foe: ud Hogmanay incl

NEW YEAR STEAK PIE

SIMON HOWIE BREAKFAST PACK

DEAN’S SHORT BREAD ASSORTMEN T

be lls loaf 8

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cakes

party celebrations

now our customers love to they have everything they need s New Year and Hogmanay.

Standing out And it’s not just our Scottish stores that’ll see the difference, as Steph Haworth, Marketing Manager, explains: “We’ve made our in-store point of sale stand out this year to highlight the great products we’re selling and stocking for all our customers. And, as well as some great new The Best (p7) products, we’ll be even more competitive on the food and drink we know our customers love in all our stores – like our large continental meat platter, which is prepared by hand in store, and our award-winning wines.”

There’s a lot to celebrate as we ring in the New Year, so please let our customers know about our superb ranges.

CONTINENTAL MEAT PLATTER

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NewCharity Partner:

new charity

it’s in our hands

It’s almost time to choose our next charity partner.

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arlier this year, with the help of our Community Champions, we whittled down 100 organisations who applied to be our next charity partner, to just two – Age UK and CLIC Sargent. We’ll be able to vote for the charity we want to support in January, but before then, find out more about each charity below.

What does Age UK do?

Age UK is the leading charity for older people. There are 1.2 million older people in the UK described as ‘chronically lonely’. This has a severe impact on their health and doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Many of them come into our stores just to talk to someone. With us, Age UK wants to end loneliness for 250,000 older people across every Morrisons community.

“I missed the sound of a human voice.”

On the same day, her daughter Diane was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and passed away soon after. “I had nobody,” says Barbara.

“I was completely lost. The loneliness gets under your skin.”

Age UK matched Barbara with a telephone befriender, who now calls her every day – giving her someone to share her life with.

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We’ll get to vote for our new charity partner in the Jan uary Your Say Survey. Look out for more information coming soon!

clic sargent do?

CLIC Sargent provides support for young people with cancer, and their families.

They arrange accommodation close to the hospital where their child is receiving treatment, and offer financial support to help the family with additional costs like travel expenses.

The money we raise would train more nurses, create ‘home hubs’ close to cancer hospitals and provide financial grants to families. grandson Scott was diagnosed with case Sandra’s leukaemia when he was four, and started chemotherapy on his fifth birthday. study “Having a child in hospital costs a lot of money,”

case studyBarbara was in her eighties when her husband Leo died.

find out more

What does

how can i choose?

says Sandra. “Petrol, parking and hospital food all add up.

My husband had to take leave from work to look after Scott.”

CLIC Sargent arranged charity grants and helped the family apply for benefits, so that Scott was well looked after at home in between his visits to the hospital.

“It was re ally scary, but CLIC Sargent were so supportive.”

Visit the charities’ websites at ageuk.org.uk and clicsargent.org.uk to learn more about what they do

mastercraft

M ast e r c r a f t This year many of our talented colleagues competed to be crowned champion of their craft.

Turn the page to find out about Mastercraft 2016 and meet our winners.

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mastercraft

mast e r c r a f t 2 0 1 6

CHALLENGing s food makers and A shopkeepers, our Mastercraft competition is all about celebrating our talented craftspeople, their knowledge and expertise and finding the best of the best.

The best of our Butchery, Fish, Deli, Bakery, Cake Shop, Wine, Fruit & Veg and Flowershop colleagues competed at the Mastercraft final on 24th November at Hilmore House in a bid to be crowned Mastercraft Champion 2016. And, for the first time, we invited colleagues from Manufacturing to take part in the Flowershop, Butchery, Bakery and Fruit & Veg categories.

Colleagues competed in two heats earlier this year with 46 colleagues

making it through to the finals at Hilmore. Each category was judged by a specialist panel who gave the finalists a series of tough challenges from blind taste testing wines to creating cake shop show-stoppers.

Spectators were also given the opportunity to vote for their People’s Champion – an award given to the finalist who best demonstrates how We Make Morrisons.

And, for the first time, colleagues in stores and sites were able to watch the challenges on the day on Colleague Facebook.

Search for #mastercraft on Colleague Facebook to take a look.

“Mastercraft is a great way to see the passion our food makers and shopkeepers bring to our customers every day. The standard of competition and craft skills we saw this year was higher than ever.”

Fiona Phillips, People Manager – Retail Training

S how - sto p p i n g

“This is my fourth Mastercraft final – it gets more competitive every year!” Paul Neve, Anlaby ca k e sho p

Creating a show-stopping cake 12

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f low e r sho p

Bouquet speed challenge

wine

deli

Creating a flavoured cheese BLIND TASTING

b a k e ry

Producing two perfect Coburg Cobs

mastercraft

“Mastercraft is a brilliant experience.” Debbie Kenwright, Warrington

For those sat wondering if you should enter or not, do it.

You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Scot Robinson, Cleethorpes

“Mastercraft was an amazing experience – I’m so proud to have been a part of it!”

Daren Fox, Catton

s k i lls b u tch e r y

Inventing four new lines

Here are some of the challenges our winners took part in in the various categories: f i sh

f r u i t and v e g

“I feel so proud and privileged to be part of the event.”

Ken Smith, Woodheads

b u tch e r y a p p r e nt i c e

b a k e ry a p p r e nt i c e

FILLETing A WHOLE SALMON Separating muscles from a leg of pork creating a displaY

Making a three-strand plait

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mastercraft

A nd th e awa r d g o e s t o...

Butchery Apprentice of the Year Nathan Christoforato from our Barry store loves learning about the craft of butchery and trying new techniques.

Mastercraft Champion – Fish Scott Chandler, Meat and Fish Manager from our Herne Bay store, developed his love of fish on board his dad’s trawler as a boy.

Mastercraft Champion – Butchery Ken Smith, from Woodheads-Colne, has been learning his craft as a butcher since starting a three-year apprenticeship after school.

After working in butcheries across the UK, he joined us 16 years ago.

Mastercraft Champion – Bakery Paul Njoroge, from our Rathbones Bakery, joined us just nine months ago. Paul loves the fact that every day is different and he can use his knowledge to problem solve.

Mastercraft Champion – WINE Paul Bamford from Rubery has been a manager with us for over 20 years.

He loves using his knowledge to advise our customers on the perfect wine.

Mastercraft Champion – fruit & VeG Phil Hallett from our Fakenham store enjoys sharing his knowledge about fruit and veg with our customers, and recently visited the apple and pear orchards of a supplier.

Mastercraft Champion – FLOWERSHOP Sue Morris from Barnsley has over 10 years’ experience in Flowershop and loves helping our customers choose the right flowers for their occasion. She was a finalist in Mastercraft 2015 and was thrilled to go one better this year.

Bakery Apprentice of the Year Amy Richards started her Morrisons journey as a Cake Shop Assistant.

She completed our Bakery Apprentice Scheme in 2015, and is now a passionate Baker in our Leek store.

People’s Champion Emma Mears is Bakery and Cakes Manager for our Malvern store.

She won the heart of Mastercraft spectators on the day with her skills, expertise and craft knowledge.

Fancy yo u r chanc e s ?

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Mastercraft Champion – Deli Peter Martin started his career with us 33 years ago and is now our Totton store’s Deli Counter Manager.

Peter loves the creativity of his job and talking to customers.

Mastercraft Champion – Cake shop Sarah Wright from our Starbeck store is passionate about creating show-stopping cakes with her colleagues and was encouraged to enter Mastercraft by a friend.

If you think you’ve got what it takes, 2017 could be your year.

Keep your eye out for further details.

unsold food

Feeding the way

Watch

our video about Unsold Food here: bit.ly/2fYZbER

We play a really important part in the local communities around our stores. From fancy dress days to raffles, to running marathons, we’re passionate about getting involved in all sorts of causes and charities. That’s why since February we’re really proud that we’ve given 1.5 million unsold food products to people who need it. hanks to our Camden store, homeless charities are able to provide hot meals throughout the week.

That’s because the store’s Community Champion, Nicola Bowen, works with City Harvest to transport unsold fruit, vegetables and snack foods to over 70 homeless centres, shelters and foodbanks across London.

Mark Harvey from City Harvest says: “We’re working really well with your stores in Camden, Wimbledon and Acton to provide food to people who need it – and we’ve been blown away by the enthusiasm of colleagues in store.

“Through Morrisons Foundation you bought us a refrigerated van to help us distribute unsold food.

That’s gone a long way to helping us continue our work across London. Thank you!”

Waste not, want not

T

How it works 1 As an item reaches its Best Before date...

2 It’s taken off the shelf.

Since February 2016 our Unsold Food programme has:

Seizing the moment

This is just one way we’ve helped communities through the Unsold Food programme.

The programme launched in February to donate unsold food that’s past its Best Before date but is still perfectly safe to eat.

“We want to make sure good food is never wasted, and donating unsold food is especially important over Christmas and New Year. We’ve got a massive opportunity to make a really big difference to people’s lives over the cold winter months by donating fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, or tinned and packet food,” says Philippa Hadfield, Corporate Responsibility Manager.

420

It’s marked as ‘waste to charity’ and placed in the stockroom.

4 Community groups arrive to collect the products, which are checked before leaving the store.

1.5m

local community groups

That’s equivalent to

200,000 products per month

The journey of an Unsold Food item:

3

Donated

Helped

5 Our unsold food is given to people in need.

different products

or two trolleys full per store per week

100 Amounts to

tonnes of food

Fed up of food waste?

You can change things in your store. Ask your Store Manager or Community Champion about how to sign up for the Unsold Food programme

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clothing designed for life

1

Having their say

People power “It was really important to get the right people in place from the beginning,” says Nicola Gibson, Nutmeg Womenswear Buyer.

“So, we had a team of designers, who worked with the Buying team to come up with the look and feel of the clothes; Merchandisers, who helped determine the volumes we wanted to buy; and Technologists, who took care of fitting them.”

Senior Merchandiser Lesley Hadfield adds: “Listening and responding to customers is really important. We held listening groups with 40 female customers of all ages across the UK, giving them a snapshot of the stories and colour palettes we had planned. We asked them to complete a questionnaire about what was important to them when purchasing clothing, and also asked them to bring with them three key garments from their current wardrobe that they couldn’t live without. We also surveyed 2,000 more customers asking them how often they shopped, where they shopped, and what they’d like to see in a Morrisons women’s range.

“They told us which colours they prefer to wear, and what they expect from their clothes. Quality and fit came out as most important.

“After studying the results, we concluded that our customers fall Find out more into three types of shopper, who we called Beth, Gemma and Kath.” about Beth, Gemma and Kath on the right of the page

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all sewn up Since Nutmeg launched in March 2013, we’ve launched ranges of baby clothes, girls’ and boys’ fashion, and women’s and men’s essentials. e’ve established our brand as a quality fashion retailer, W and, in February, we’ll be celebrating the launch of our first women’s range. Here’s how we developed the range – from the sketchbook to the clothing rail.

5 Timing it right clothing designed for life 16

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Lesley adds: “Once we’d negotiated the volumes and prices, we booked the styles with our suppliers, and agreed on a launch in February 2017, just in time for Mother’s Day.”

We know one of the things our customers love most about Nutmeg is the thoughtful little details.”

AMANDA BARKER, PRODUCT TECHNOLOGIST

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Wear and flair “Next we thought about what kind of clothes our customers would want to buy, and using the latest trend information started to design and build a range, which included vests, jeans, outerwear, T-shirts, knitwear and activewear,” says Melanie Davies, Design Manager.

Lesley says: “Our next step was to find suppliers who could deliver the range. We flew over to meet them, starting in India and Bangladesh, and toured their showrooms and factories. We also shared our design packs to show them the look and feel we were going for – and they made us some samples based on these.”

clothing designed for life

I ntroducing . . .

our nutmeg customers !

Our new women’s range is based around three shopper profiles.

N a me : B eth

4

Age : 2 0 - 3 0 C hildren : N one

Quality time “While keeping Beth, Gemma and Kath in our minds, we built our range to account for all their needs, wants, and must-haves,” says Nicola.

Amanda Barker, Product Technologist, says: “We know one of the things our customers love most about Nutmeg is the thoughtful little details.

For women, we’ve developed bra-friendly vests and tops to keep bra straps covered, deep waistbands for tummy support, and the activewear range has moisture management, which draws moisture away from the skin.”

6 All systems go “Production is now starting to get underway.

Our Logistics teams have helped support us with shipping to make sure we get the products from our suppliers’ factories across the world into our stores, ready for launch. And our Visual Merchandising team is now working on how to display the garments, which will be communicated to the stores, as in some cases, the range will be up to a whole aisle!” says Nicola.

Beth tends to shop fortnightly as she looks out for current trends to add to her wardrobe. She doesn’t plan when she shops, and is attracted to striking fashion displays.

N a me : G emm a Age : 3 0 - 5 0 C hildren : 1 - 3 children living a t home Gemma values price, and she’s prepared to shop around to find the best value for money.

Gemma already buys clothes for her children from the Nutmeg range, and will expect the same quality at fantastic prices that she’s now used to seeing in stores.

N a me : k a th Age : 5 0 + C hildren : L eft home Kath isn’t afraid of colour or fashion, but doesn’t want to look like she’s dressing much younger than she is.

Kath needs to find her identity within the current clothing market – and she doesn’t feel like she can get that with current high street and supermarket ranges.

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LONG SERVICE AWARDS

ntastic “Had a fa ur 25th o t a g evenin r.� ry dinne a rs e iv n an n o lt o B Olwen

5-year 2 r ountry. i c e e h t h t d s e s t celebra vents held acro s e u g a e l our col ons at special e f o 0 0 5 r orris Ove M h t i w es mileston

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n Glasgow, Manchester, Colchester, Reading and Leeds we said a big thank you to honour our long-serving colleagues.

They were invited to an overnight celebration in their region and enjoyed a drinks reception, meal and entertainment.

Miles Foster, Operations Director Central, says: “Our colleagues help us build this business, and we value every one of them.

“Working with us for 25 years is a huge milestone. We’ve seen lots of change in that time, and they’ve played a huge part in us becoming food makers and shopkeepers. We value their loyalty, so we want to celebrate it.”

I

ng, the food was “The hotel was amazi lly valued employee. rea a gorgeous and I felt like so much ulous night. Thank you I had a thoroughly fab .” nd eke we ng azi am an Morrisons for such

LONG SERVICE AWARDS

Michelle Cash

“It’s great to be recognised for all the hard work we’ve put in over the years.”

LOUISE ADAMS “Went on my 25-year long service awar ds last night in Manchester. Can honestly say it was a fabulous night, the hotel was lovel y, the venue was great. We had champagn e, a beautiful three-course meal and drink s.

Blooming brilliant night, want to do it again!”

Joanne Kirman

Louise Adams, Admin Assistant at Coventry store, began her Morrisons journey back in 1991. She says: “I went to the Reading event, and had a brilliant time! It’s great to be recognised for all the hard work we’ve put in over the years.

“I’ve seen quite a lot of change since I started, such as our store refit last year. Thankfully, Morrisons is full of passionate colleagues who work really well together – and I love the fast-paced environment.”

Ross Wilson, Store Manager at Seaford store, was also recognised for his long service at the Reading celebration.

“It’s great to be recognised like this, but what really keeps me motivated is delivering excellent customer service.

That’s why I’m based on the shop floor, by the checkouts, rather than tucked away upstairs.

“It’s a really exciting time for the many colleagues joining our business today.”

This year we had over 800 colleagues reach the 25-year milestone.

Clare Grainger, Group People Director, adds: “It’s great that so many colleagues have a long and successful career with us.

These celebrations are just one way of rewarding long serving colleagues for their loyalty and hard work.”

“Just like to say a massive thank you for a lovely evening last night.

Thoroughly enjoyed it and was faultless from start to finish. Spoilt is one an understatement! Well done every ss.” succe a night last ng involved maki Sarah Harvey

december2016 19

help us spread some christmas

sparkle

This December you can join in with all sorts of festive fun to help raise vital funds for Sue Ryder. ancy yourself as a baker, creative crafter or a carol singer? Or perhaps fancy dress is more your style?

Ask your Community Champion how you can join in the fun and spread some Christmas sparkle where you are.

Don’t forget to share your photos on Facebook using #raiseasmile.

F

You make the difference this Christmas Christmas is a special time of year, but for those spending time away from family due to illness, it can be difficult.

When people have been diagnosed with a life-changing illness, Sue Ryder is there to help them every step of the way.

Thanks to all your incredible fundraising, it means Sue Ryder can care for more patients at home, so they won’t have to be away from their loved ones this Christmas.

Your fundraising stories Congratulations to Elaine Thompson, her family, and colleagues from the Pensions team, who walked Hadrian’s Wall and raised £1,000 for Sue Ryder.

Merry Christmas and thank you from Sue Ryder

Thanks to Jonathan and Kate Hancock from Market Drayton store for organising a fabulous charity ball that raised over £2,000, enough to pay for a hospice nurse for 20 days.

Swadlincote’s ‘Water or Wine’ game raised nearly £60.

Colindale colleagues had a visit from their local Mayor following their incredible fundraising efforts.

Morrisons in Dover got up to some hocus-pocus for Halloween.

Morrisons in Morley raised over £200 in their raffle.

CONTACT US: 20

december2016

Sue Ryder’s ‘Raise a Smile’ team will support your fundraising every step of the way and they would love to hear from you.

morrisons@sueryder.org

giving something back

e30/30

Challenge

If you can’t think of a New Year’s resolution, why not give up something you love for 30 days and raise £30 for Sue Ryder.

It could be chocolate, tea, Facebook or whatever it is you find hardest to resist. Set up your fundraising page by visiting

Spooktacular

morrisons foundation

Congratulations to our Manufacturing and Logistics sites for successfully helping Morris complete his Monster Miles around the world. They’re hoping to raise £20,000!

Giving grants to charities and making your fundraising go further with match funding

flaxby thrapston

winsford

LOCH ness

Customers and colleagues in Verwood literally gave bags of support – containing gifts and food items – to Sue Ryder.

farmers boy, winsford

Germany Transylvania

One Last Tango for Sue Ryder We can’t believe our charity partnership with Sue Ryder comes to a close in February.

Join us in January to celebrate all of our hard work for One Last Tango!

0800 949 6000

Horsforth’s Ralph McDermott raised £210* running the Great Yorkshire Run in aid of Bloodwise.

Ipswich checkout operator Helen Yellop ran the Ipswich Half Marathon, raising £1,330* for Motor Neurone Disease Association.

grant funding Friends of Grangewood were presented with £14,995 by colleagues at our Hatch End, Middlesex, store.

The donation will be used to help children with physical disabilities access the climbing frame in their wheelchairs.

justgiving.com/teams/ SueRyder3030

Rebecca Edwards from Mansfield Woodhouse organised some toasty fundraising for her local Scouts’ bonfire night, and raised £136.

match funding

SueRyderNational

@Sue_Ryder

Colleagues at our Reading store donated £5,312 to help Reading Lifeline develop its specialist support group service.

Newport store presented Miss Isle School of Sip-Puff Sailing with £3,000 to install a bespoke hoist at Cowes Yacht Haven, so people with disabilities can access boats safely and easily.

Colleagues at our Droitwich store handed over a £3,980 cheque to St Richard’s Hospice Foundation, to train volunteers for a bereavement support group.

Fighting All Cancers Together provides practical support for people suffering from cancer.

We’ve donated £10,816 to help with the refurbishment of their new premises.

Our Failsworth colleagues visited Oldham Athletic Community Trust and presented a £5,000 donation to provide activities for young people with autism.

Colleagues at Welwyn Garden City donated £9,877 to the Willow Foundation to fund special days for seriously ill young adults living in Scotland.

Carers Bucks were presented with a cheque for £2,000 to fund six training support group sessions for 90 carers in the local area.

morrisonsfoundation.co.uk *Totals include match funding.

december2016 21

We want your stories! Please send them through the internal post, or to Fresh News, using the address on p3.

Lincoln put on a veterans’ tea for the second year running, and 80 local war heroes attended.

As part of a fundraising tour of Britain for Marie Curie, Morris Minors pulled up in Kendal and raised £180.

Colleagues at Southport Café donated their extra plates and cups to paramedic Sara Smith (centre) for a free Christmas lunch at the town’s ambulance station.

When 60 schoolchildren visited our Colwyn Bay store, we taught them about our bakery, meat and fruit and veg.

Thanks to Cromer customers who’ve been donating glass for recycling, the store’s been able to sponsor Cromer Youth Football Club’s under-10 and under-12 team kits.

Southport’s Community Champion helped organise a junior fashion festival featuring Nutmeg clothing.

A bucket collection and colleague raffle organised by Cowdenbeath store raised £520 for Curly Star Dream Foundation.

Janet Haresign from Yeadon celebrating her 30 years’ service, with flowers from General Manager Jon Paul Davies and checkout Team Leader James Sugden.

Meltham store presented a £9,800 cheque to inclusive learning group Shabang!, which runs activities, workshops and events for families with children with additional needs.

Whitefield Manchester’s Community Champion Rochelle Gardner had afternoon tea with prospective work experience students at Elms Bank Art College.

Littlehampton colleagues gave Sally Hall some jewellery and flowers and made her a cake to mark her last day in the café.

The Lord Mayor visited Solihull store to meet the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Army Cadet Force, who were in store selling poppies.

22

december2016

You can also email company.communications@morrisonsplc.co.uk or post on our Colleague Facebook page.

THE social

Colne colleagues held a fundraising day for Delete Blood Cancer UK, in support of their team-mate Ricky Farnell, who is being treated for the disease. They raised £290 from the cake sale.

Above: Cake sale

Love was in the air in Selby, when Tony proposed to his fiancée Tina over the Tannoy!

Pendeford’s Community Champion Maureen Trainer gave St Columba’s Church Day Centre a £1,000 cheque on behalf of the store.

Above: Ricky Farnell

Tavistock colleagues held a best last day for baker Mike Hughes, who retired aged 80.

Want more?

Colleagues congratulated Rachel Cliffe, from Holbrook, on her 25 years’ service.

For more of your pictures and stories, visit our Colleague Facebook page

Colleagues at our Leamington Spa store donated water bottles to participants in the swimathon event in aid of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, and DEBRA, which supports people affected by Epidermolysis, a painful skin condition.

Our Corporate Services team spent a day helping Prism Youth Project clean up their outdoor site in Keighley.

Rochelle Gardner from our Whitefield store made sandwiches and cakes for Communic8te Bury, a charity that supports people who are deaf or have other hearing difficulties.

John Beasley, one of our Gadbrook drivers, received a Thank You for helping to clear Aberystwyth store’s yard of baskets and trolleys during its refit.

In Livingston, Deli colleague June McEwan was given flowers and a celebratory hamper as her colleagues wished her well in her retirement. december2016 23

Mastercraft Champion – Bakery

Paul Njoroge

Mastercraft Champion – Butchery

Ken Smith

Rathbones 890

Woodheads-Colne 900

Mastercraft Champion – Deli

Mastercraft Champion – Fish

Peter Martin

Scott Chandler

Totton 364

Herne Bay 402

Mastercraft Champion – Cake Shop

Sarah Wright Starbeck 065

Mastercraft Champion – Flowershop

Sue Morris Barnsley 098

Cong rat ulations to our Mastercraft 2016 winners

Mastercraft Champion – Fruit and Veg

Phil Hallett Fakenham 282

Butchery Apprentice of the Year

Nathan Christoforato Barry 082

Mastercraft Champion – Wine

Paul Bamford Rubery 259

Bakery Apprentice of the Year

Amy Richards Leek 251

People’s Champion

Emma Mears Malvern 254

Makes it