[6] The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in October 2021.

Morrisons is the fifth largest supermarket in the United Kingdom by market share (8.6%),[12] overtaken for fourth place by Aldi in September 2022.

In accordance with this policy decision, 114 smaller 'Safeway Compact' stores were sold to rival supermarket chain Somerfield in 2004 in a two-part deal worth £260.2 million.

[37] When the Co-operative Group completed its takeover of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009, it was required to sell a number of stores by the Competition Commission.

[44] In May 2013, Morrisons formed a partnership with Ocado to use its technology systems and distribution infrastructure to help launch its own online service.

[49] Morrison's nephew Chris Blundell, who controls most of the remaining family stake in the supermarket, agreed, telling told the board it needed rescuing, and welcomed the decision by chairman Sir Ian Gibson to leave the business in June 2015.

[50] In June 2014, Morrisons announced that plans had been put in place to cut 2,600 jobs as a result of changes to its management structure.

[52] Following a 3.1% drop in like-for-like sales in the Christmas 2014 trading period, Sir Ian Gibson stood down six months early and was replaced by former Tesco chief financial officer Andrew Higginson at the end of January 2015.

Following complaints, Morrisons admitted that the extra money was actually paid to the supplier of the milk, Arla Foods, to be divided among several countries, with only a fifth of the 23p going to UK farmers.

A smaller group of 50 farmers were tasked with supplying the range, with additional welfare standards applied to the production of the milk.

[64][65] From March 2020, the company aimed to cut down 3,000 management roles, and created 7,000 shop-floor jobs as part of its restructuring plan.

[66] In December 2020, Morrisons was criticised for retaining Paula Vennells on its board, despite her role as CEO of the Post Office during the subpostmasters' scandal and criticism of her leadership there as "both cruel and incompetent" by a Conservative peer and various MPs.

[70] In June 2021, Morrisons rejected a £5.5 billion takeover bid from private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) believing it "significantly undervalued" the company.

[83] Unlike any other UK supermarket, Morrisons has a manufacturing arm including abattoirs, vegetable packing houses and fish processing plants comprising a vertically integrated supply chain.

[84] The financial results have been as follows:[85][86] In July 2020, Morrisons had 497 superstores[87] in the United Kingdom, including those it retained following its purchase of Safeway plc.

Until 2004, Morrisons superstores were largely concentrated in the English Midlands and the North of England, but had expanded southwards, beginning with a store at Erith, Greater London, which opened in 1998.

[92] In 2019, Morrisons Daily stores operated by MPK Garages and Essar began to trade under a similar deal.

In May 2013 Morrisons announced a partnership with Ocado to use its technology systems and distribution infrastructure to help launch its own online service.

[107] Morrisons' UK market share declined steadily since 2019;[83] in January 2025 it was 8.6% – behind Tesco (28.5%), Sainsbury's (15.9%), Asda (12.6%) and Aldi (10.2%), and ahead of Lidl (7.2%).

[12] According to CACI, as of 2006, Morrisons had market dominance in 10 postcode areas, half of which were in its home county of Yorkshire; SY (Shrewsbury), LD (Llandrindod Wells), WS (Walsall), TS (Teesside), TD (Hawick), BD (Bradford), HG (Harrogate), LS (Leeds), WF (Wakefield) and HD (Huddersfield).

[111] Morrison's Doorstep Delivery continued to be available, with some changes (in particular, a limit of three items per order to prevent stockpiling was dropped), after pandemic restrictions were removed.

[115] In 2011, Morrisons bought children's retailer Kiddicare for £70 million to give it the knowledge to sell clothing and homewares online.

After having sent a team to New York to learn from the business ahead of the predicted launch in 2013, Morrisons began a home delivery initiative in January 2014.

[120] The company operated a number of smaller stores called "Morrisons M Local" in major places such as Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol.

[125] On 15 March 2007, Morrisons unveiled what they proclaimed as a "more modern brand image", which was rolled out to all stores, vehicles and distribution sites.

The rationale behind the decision was the need for Morrisons to attract a wider national customer base, capitalising on its expanded geographical spread following the acquisition of Safeway.

If a customer spent £15 or more and could have paid less for their comparable groceries, Morrisons automatically gave them the difference in points on their card at the checkout.

The difference was calculated at the checkout on national brands and comparable own label products and fresh food, even those that are on promotion elsewhere.

[135] Morrisons launched a special 'Tommy's Afternoon Tea Box' to support shoppers wishing to mark the end of World War Two anniversary on 2 September 2020.

[137] In 2007, Morrisons opened a new Distribution Centre in Swindon[138] and announced that it had bought a new site on Junction 23 of the M5 in Bridgwater in Somerset, for redevelopment as a fresh produce packing facility.