George Dymond, the man hired by Morrisons to head up its new online grocery business, has resigned just weeks after joining the company.
Dymond was recruited by Britain's fourth most popular grocer late last year from Coles, the Australian retailer. His role involved working with Morrisons online grocery service, which is operated in partnership with Ocado and only began deliveries on 1 January.
Both Reuters and The Financial Times have reported that people familiar with the situation suggested that the role had not turned out to be what Mr Dymond was expecting.
It's been a worrying month for the British supermarket chain.
Earlier this month the firm revealed it had endured a poor Christmas despite it having talked up its prospects in November.
Its like-for-like sales fell 5.6 %, excluding fuel, in the six weeks to 5 January and it said year profit would be towards the bottom of the range of analysts' expectations.
It emerged last week that Morrisons' head of tax and group treasurer Paul Coyle is under investigation by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in connection with alleged insider dealing before the Ocado tie-up.
Morrisons is also facing calls from activist investors, including US hedge fund Elliott Associates, to radically restructure its property portfolio.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
