Published:06 October 2014

The new Morrisons store in District Shopping Centre on Chiltern Drive is a Craft Skills Academy with staff trained in a range of traditional skills such as butchery, fishmongery, bakery and flower arranging.


The new store’s layout is designed to bring the Morrisons difference to life for customers, who will be able to see bakers kneading dough at the front of the bakery and butchers cutting meat fresh on the counter.

The store includes new misting technology which is used to optimise the freshness of the food on offer in the ‘fresh market’, which will stock everything from carrots to tinkerbell peppers and yellow courgettes. The store also features a continental style deli counter, 140 cuts of meat in the butchery and an unrivalled selection of more than 80 cheeses from the UK and around the world. At the bakery there will be up to 48 varieties of bread baked fresh from scratch throughout the day by Morrisons bakers.

As part of the Craft Skills Academy, the Morrisons team in Verwood have undergone intensive training on product knowledge so that they can advise customers and suggest cooking tips, food combinations and matching wines.

The new store also boasts a new Flower Shop offering a range of beautiful flowers and plants for all occasions and budgets, a new ‘make your own’ Pizza Counter, plus the fantastic Nutmeg range of clothing for boys and girls of all ages.

In addition, a new Morrisons concept café is being opened. Its design and layout has been driven by customer feedback to reflect the different reasons for visiting a café. Features include modern British café décor, moveable seating to allow buggies to be wheeled up to tables, Barrista Plus coffee machines, free refills on all coffee and free wi-fi areas.

Store General Manager Martin Rolfe said: “We wanted to create an experience that was different from other supermarkets, offering customers a fantastic range of fresh products at great value and excellent customer service. The team have worked hard to train as specialists in areas such as wine, butchery and bakery and the fresh market concept means that many products are created by these specialists in-store each morning.”

“We’re delighted that, as a result of this new store opening, we have helped create new jobs in the local area, and are now looking forward to welcoming new shoppers into our Verwood store.”

The store was opened by the Mayor of Verwood and the ceremony attended by the Verwood and District Chamber of Trade.

Published 06/10/2014