By Robert Plummer Business reporter, BBC News

Talk of Britain's North-South divide may sound like a tired old platitude, but the saga of Morrisons supermarkets shows that you ignore the phenomenon at your peril.

Morrisons' stores will soon get a revamp

Many people living south of Watford had never heard of the Bradford-based chain until it bought rival Safeway in March 2004.

Until then, most of its stores were in the north of England and the Midlands.

But suddenly, the old red-and-white Safeway logo gave way to the yellow-and-black "big M" symbol at stores throughout the UK.

It looked like a good fit geographically, since Safeway was strong in Scotland and southern England.

As a result, the purchase turned Morrisons into a truly national player for the first time.

However, bewildered shoppers were even more perplexed when many of those same outlets changed hands yet again soon afterwards.

Within months, 114 of the 479 Safeway stores had been sold off to Somerfield, while individual shops were sold off to other rivals including Tesco and discount chain Netto.

Trailing behind

Some of those sales were mandated by the Office of Fair Trading as a condition of Morrisons' takeover of Safeway.

But the confusion was the first sign that Sir Ken Morrison, the richest man in Yorkshire, had possibly bitten off more than he could chew in buying a chain with four times the number of stores of his existing group.

Before the �3bn deal, Morrisons had 6% of the UK grocery market, while Safeway had 10%.

SUPERMARKET SHARE Tesco: 31.3% Asda: 16.9% Sainsbury's: 16.5% Morrison's: 11.1% Co-Op: 4.7% Waitrose: 4% Somerfield: 3.6% Aldi: 2.4% Lidl: 2.1% Iceland: 1.8% Source: TNS, February 2007

Now Morrisons is the fourth-largest supermarket operator in the country, but it sells just 11% of Britain's groceries - well down on the combined share of the two chains.

That leaves it trailing behind the big three retailers in the sector: Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's.

True, Morrisons has now returned to profit, after the costs of integrating Safeway pushed it into the red in 2005.

But its announcement of plans to rebrand itself - and change its distinctive logo - shows that the group is aware of the need for an image change in order to woo reluctant customers.

Regional origins

If you venture into Morrisons' branch in Acton, west London, you get an immediate impression of a Northern chain that has strayed outside its comfort zone.

No other national supermarket has a section labelled "The Pie Shop", selling meat-and-potato pies made in its own factories and using meat from animals killed in its own abattoir.

Sir Ken Morrison is getting rid of his firm's old logo

On the other hand, you can also pick up a fine bottle of Chilean red from its extensive wine selection, while plenty of people swear by the freshness of its fruit and vegetables.

That's why for some observers, the idea that Morrisons represents some kind of cloth-cap regionalism is a deeply patronising one.

They point out that bigger rival Asda also has Yorkshire roots, being based in Leeds.

But somehow the fact that Asda is now owned by US giant Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, has allowed it to transcend its geographical origins in a way Morrisons has not.

Internet ignored

Morrisons' makeover includes a change of slogan. Instead of boasting "more reasons to shop at Morrisons", the store will now strive to be "the food specialist for everyone".

But other supermarkets, notably Tesco, have built on their success in food retailing to become major players in other retail areas, selling everything from clothes to financial services.

Morrisons has also done nothing to address the fact that increasing numbers of people never go to supermarkets at all, preferring to order their groceries online and have them delivered to their door.

Unlike its main rivals, the group has no internet shopping service at all, and seems to have no plans to start one.

Perhaps at the ripe old age of 75, Sir Ken is unprepared to embrace the digital future with the same enthusiasm as his competitors.

But when he steps down as chairman next year, the Morrison family, which owns 16% of the business, will have to add that issue to their shopping list of reforms.