Morrisons’ sales climb in first quarter
Morrisons increased its retail like-for-like sales by 3% in its first quarter. When wholesale was included like-for-like sales were up 3.4%.
In a statement, the supermarket said it performed well in the 13 weeks to 30 April, especially in the periods around Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter. It also benefited from more customers coming through its door due to initiatives such as Price Crunch.
David Potts, Morrisons chief executive, said: “Our new financial year has started well, thanks once again to the dedication of our team of food makers and shopkeepers. We are improving the shopping trip in many different ways, which is making Morrisons more popular and accessible for customers. These new initiatives in-store, online, in wholesale and services are beginning to build a broader, stronger Morrisons.”
During the period, Morrisons further expanded its premium ‘Best’ range and introduced a healthy eating ‘Eat Smart’ range. It also launched its new Nutmeg clothing womenswear offering in over 50 stores, and the wider Nutmeg brand was extended to include baby and child accessories.
In addition, the supermarket launched its new flowerworld.co.uk website, which offers a range of fresh bouquets for free next day delivery to UK customers. It also introduced a new online and in-store ‘Food to Order’ offer for Spring/Summer allowing customers to pre-order for parties all year round.
Potts added: “We are confident we will continue to turnaround and grow Morrisons. Our expectations and guidance for 2017/18 are unchanged, including year-end net debt of less than £1 billion.”
