Morrisons reports disappointing Christmas sales
Morrisons has described the Christmas trading period as “challenging” as it reported a 2.5% drop in like-for-like sales in the six weeks to 30 December. Total sales declined by 0.9%.
In a trading statement, the supermarket said its disappointing sales reflected a need to improve its promotions and communicate its points of difference. The statement also highlighted the importance of online grocery shopping, which Morrisons is yet to offer.
Despite the fall in sales, Morrisons said it was confident that its full-year performance would be in line with expectations although it expects the difficult trading conditions to continue throughout 2013.
Commenting on the trading, chief executive officer, Dalton Philips said: “Our 130,000 colleagues have done an outstanding job serving our customers great value food this Christmas and I would like to thank them for their dedication and hard work.
Never Miss a Retail Update!“In a difficult market our sales performance was lower than anticipated, but we have a strong business and significant opportunities to advance our strategy, as we accelerate our multi-channel offer.”Q
Last week, Morrisons announced that it had signed an advertising deal with Ant and Dec and that it will also sponsor some of the comedy duo’s prime time television programmes such as Britain’s Got Talent and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
