The Bradford-based company revealed stronger trade as Rami Baitieh leads the firm’s bid to recover more market share by competing with German discount rivals Aldi and Lidl on price
Morrisons has revealed its fastest sales growth in three years, driven by efforts of new boss Rami Baitieh to breathe a fresh lease of life into the supermarket.
The Bradford-based giant reported stronger trade as it aims to reclaim market share through matching prices with discount German rivals Aldi and Lidl. Morrisons said that their sales, excluding fuel and VAT, increased by 4.6% over the three months ending January 28.
This rise stands in stark contrast with the mere 0.1% boost within the same quarter last year, and the 3.3% from the previous quarter. The total sales for this period amounted to an impressive £3.9billion, marking a 3.9% increase.
Despite food and drink costs creeping up recently, food inflation appears to have slowed down in recent months. Mr Baitieh, who took over the reins at the retailer owned by private equity in September, declared that its “next chapter” is now “full swing”.
In January, the former boss at Carrefour announced development plans designed to rejuvenate and fortify the Morrisons brand. Last month, mimicking a tactic used by the larger supermarkets to win back customers from Aldi and Lidl, Morrisons pledged to match prices on some of these competitor’s products.
Morrisons, which was scooped up by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2022 for £7billion, currently sits as the fifth-largest supermarket chain in the UK, having been overtaken by Aldi two years prior.
Mr Baitieh said: “In January I outlined our plan to reinvigorate, refresh and strengthen Morrisons as we started our next chapter. Those plans are now in full swing with the whole business engaged in the three key pillars of work that will be the foundation of the future for Morrisons: commercial excellence, operations optimisation and new value creation.
“I have been so impressed with the way all our colleagues are embracing the start of our next chapter and I want to thank every one of them for the important part that they are playing in shaping our future. There is a real sense of optimism and renewal running through the whole company as we return to a growth path.”
This news comes just weeks after it was revealed by Companies House filings that Morrisons had a loss of more than £1billion in the year to October last year.
