By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The chief executive of Wm Morrison is to step down after a slump in Christmas sales led the grocer's board to conclude that a new leader was required to transform its fortunes.
Confirming an exclusive report on Sky News, Morrisons said that Dalton Philips would leave the company following its full-year results, with a search under way for his successor.
News of the change came as Morrisons reported Christmas trading figures which underlined its status as the also-ran among the big UK supermarket chains, with a like-for-like sales fall for the six weeks to January 4 of 5.2% including fuel.
Mr Philips said he would be leaving "a great company", adding that during his five-year tenure "many improvements (have been made) to the business and given Morrisons strong foundations for the future".
Morrisons also confirmed that Andrew Higginson, a former Tesco executive, would take over as its chairman from Sir Ian Gibson in January.
Mr Higginson said: "In the next chapter of Morrisons development, we need to return the business to growth. The board believes this is best done under new leadership. I would like to thank Dalton for his contribution as CEO.
"He has brought great personal qualities and values to his leadership of the business, having had to manage against a background of considerable industry turmoil and change."
Mr Philips deserved "particular credit for facing into and dealing with the pricing issues that have now become evident, for taking the business into the convenience and online channels, and for the steps he has taken to modernise the company's operating systems," Mr Higginson added.
Morrisons' like-for-like trading performance was worse than the City had forecast, and placed the company firmly in the foothills of the battle for growth, with J Sainsbury and Tesco both reporting superior figures last week.
Mr Philips, a former executive at Loblaw, Canada's biggest food retailer, became Morrisons' boss in March 2010, and also sits on the board of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
During his tenure, Morrisons has struggled to modernise its business in the face of tough competition from supermarket discounters and established rivals.
Last autumn, Morrisons announced thousands of job cuts and the introduction of a new loyalty scheme in a bid to stem the decline in sales.
When asked about Mr Philips' departure on Monday night, Morrisons said it did not comment on management changes.
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