Morrisons is gearing up for a major non-food push next spring as chief executive Marc Bolland aims to further extend the grocer’s appeal.

The grocer’s home and leisure director John Vinuesa – who has previously worked for Tesco and Asda – has been working for the past nine months “to create a new range in non-food”, revealed Bolland.

He said Morrisons had already delivered strong growth in its home and leisure division and has “done a lot of work” on its technology offer, which includes DVDs, CDs and MP3s. “The first signs are positive, but we need to look at what happens in spring,” said Bolland.

Morrisons has traditionally been cautious about non-food and has focused on developing itself as a “food specialist for everyone”. Bolland has said previously that a non-food range would have to be something specific to Morrisons, something “ownable” and “unique” to the grocer.

Allegra Strategies project director Steve Gotham said that, although Morrisons has had a presence in non-food for some time, the range has “lacked any sense of identity”.

He said the grocer has fallen behind Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s in general merchandise, but that “its strong low price credentials coupled with its high footfall and superstore estate means it has a great opportunity to capitalise on non-food”.

Bolland remained tight-lipped on the details of the non-food launch but said he would unveil further details at the retailer’s preliminary results in March. He would not reveal whether it would include clothing.

Bolland has so far concentrated on driving Morrisons’ brand credentials of freshness and value, and ensuring its stores are overhauled with a new brand image.

For the 26 weeks to August 3, the grocer reported pre-tax profits up 12.8 per cent to£309 million and like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, up 7.6 per cent. Bolland said the growth in comparable store sales in a difficult economic climate “is a clear testament to the strength of Morrisons’ recovery”.

Gotham said: “Bolland should be congratulated for getting the business on a much stronger footing”. He believed that while some shoppers may be cutting back on non-food spend, Morrisons’ strong price positioning will enable it to generate sales effectively.

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