Ken Morrison’s advice for Morrisons’ boss Dalton Philips

Management needed three things to get the best out of Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, the 82-year old millionaire told BBC News. “You need good staff, you need good suppliers and you need loyal customers,”​ he said.

“If you can fulfil those three categories with long-term people, you’ve got a winner.”​

‘The solution … is very simple’​​

Morrison advised Philips to make unannounced visits to Morrisons’ stores to gauge for himself the standard of customer service. “The solution, in my view, is very simple. Go and shop in your shops and have a look at it,”​ he said.

“Don’t make presidential visits – go as an ordinary member of the public. And, once you win people’s confidence – staff or customers – you’ll learn a lot. You are never quite as good as you think you are.”​

The former chairman said he was “very disappointed” ​to learn of the 2,600 redundancies​ announced by the retailer this week, in a major overall of its management structure.

“I feel for them all because they have been in their jobs quite a long time. A lot of them are good friends of mine and a lot of them are known to me.”​

The retailer claimed the management overhaul would modernise store management, with the aim of reducing in-store management tiers, simplify responsibilities and improve customer service.

‘You’ve got a lot more bullshit than me’​

Earlier this month, Morrison dismissed Philips’ recovery strategy for the business as “Bullshit”​. ​Speaking at the retailer’s annual general meeting in Bradford on June 4, Morrison told Philips: “I have something like 1,000 bullocks and, having listened to your presentation, Dalton, you’ve got a lot more bullshit than me.” ​

Morrison left the supermarket in 2008, after more than 50 years with the business.

After the attack a spokesman for the supermarket told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Clearly there’s a difference of opinion​ ​[between management and Morrison] about the company strategy. ​

“We are absolutely content that the right thing to do for Morrisons is to launch into the online space and to develop convenience as well as rapidly improve our systems, so that we have a 21st century business.”​

Under severe pressure from discount stores, such as Aldi and Lidl, Morrisons recently pledged to invest £1bn in price cuts to match the lower prices they offer. The lower prices would not affect suppliers but would be funded mainly through internal cost cutting, said the retailer.

Morrisons reported a pre-tax loss of £176M for the year to February 2, compared with a pre-tax profit of £879M the year before.

Sir Ken Morrisons's recipe for supermarket success​

• Good staff
• Good suppliers
• Loyal customers