Sadness at store closure

Oct 20 2005 By Tony Deeley, Birmingham Mail

STAFF at a doomed Black Country supermarket were today preparing to say their last goodbyes, with no offers of an 11th-hour rescue on the horizon.

Safeway in Hagley Road, Halesowen, which employs more than 150 people, will close its doors for the last time on Saturday .

New owners, Morrisons, confirmed today no alternative retailer had been found to take over the lease on the building and that few people were being transferred to neighbouring Morrisons branches.

The closure of the Halesowen store follows that in April of the Safeway store at Bearwood - soon to be reopened by new tenants Aldi - and the placing of the Safeway store in the Crown Centre at Stourbridge on the sales market.

As staff at Halesowen prepared to join the dole queue one worker said: "There is a lot of anger and resentment towards Morrisons.

"This is a busy store which has always made a profit and people just cannot understand why it is being closed. It is not the happiest of places to work."

Morrisons said the decision to close was taken after "careful consideration and much deliberation" and followed a review of all its stores nationally.