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From the early 1900s the company used the name Wm Morrison (Provisions) Limited. In 1958 it opened a small shop in the town centre, followed by its first supermarket "Victoria", in 1961. In 1967 it became a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
As of early 2004 it had over 550 supermarkets (most under the Safeway brand) in the United Kingdom. It has stores under the Morrisons brand mainly in the English Midlands and the north of England, but has expanded southwards with a store at Cribbs Causeway , Bristol that opened on October 27, 2003 [1]. Other stores in the southern regions have been opened since.
On 8 March 2004 Morrisons' takeover of Safeway was finalised. Stores under the Safeway brand are concentrated in the south of England, thus giving Morrisons a full national presence. Safeway brand products then began to be phased out in favour of Morrisons products, the most notable of which is the carrier bags.