Post Office Boss Delivered To Morrisons Board

The chief executive of the Post Office will this week be delivered to the board of Wm Morrison amid efforts by the UK's fourth-biggest grocery retailer‎ to improve its fortunes.

Sky News has learnt that Paula Vennells, who has run the vast Post Office network since 2012, is to be named as a non-executive director of the Bradford-based chain.

An announcement confirming her appointment is expected as soon as this week, sources said on Wednesday.

Ms Vennells is an experienced retailer, having held senior marketing roles at Dixons and Argos before joining Whitbread (LSE: WTB.L - news) , the Costa Coffee owner.

Insiders said that she was expected to replace Johanna Waterous, a long-standing Morrisons director who has chaired the company's remuneration committee.

Like its larger rivals Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) , Asda and Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's, Morrisons has struggled to cope with a vicious price war and changing shopping habits.

Earlier this year, it parted company with Dalton Phillips, its chief executive, and appointed a former Tesco executive, David Potts, as his successor.

Mr Potts has sold Morrisons' convenience business and scrapped the price-matching element of its customer loyalty programme in an effort to preserve margins.

He said last week that he was optimistic about the crucial Christmas trading period even as Morrisons reported a further decline in like-for-like sales.

Morrisons declined to comment on Ms Vennells' appointment.