The boss of Morrisons said “customers are beginning to notice” the supermarket getting better, as sales edged up to nearly £4 billion in the first three months of the year.
Like-for-like sales excluding fuel grew by 4.6% at £3.9 billion, roughly in line with grocery inflation. It’s the fastest growth for the retailer in three years, after its market share declined in the face of competition from discounters Lidl and Aldi.
CEO Rami Baitiéh, who joined in November, said: “Availability, waste, newness, innovation, speed and accuracy are all on an improving trend and our customers are beginning to notice.” He noted that complaints have plunged, down 60% over the last 20 weeks.
Morrisons aims to roll-out more convenience stores, operated by franchisees, in the coming months.
The Bradford-based supermarket was bought by American private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2021 - following a bidding war with Fortress - in a debt-fuelled deal that attracted scrutiny from MPs. The company’s full accounts will give a clearer picture of its debt situation, when they are published with the Companies House.
Morrisons agreed to sell its petrol stations arm to another Clayton, Dubilier & Rice-owned firm for £2.5 billion earlier this year.
Baitiéh 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.”
“For longer term and sustainable growth, we have developed new plans for growth in wholesale, convenience, franchise, export markets and global sourcing and we are now moving quickly to implement them.
“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.”
