Morrisons has revealed that sales slumped over the past three months as the retailer cautioned over a “very fragile and difficult consumer environment”. The supermarket group, which saw a £7 billion takeover by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice approved by regulators earlier this month, reported a 6.4% fall in group like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT for the 13 weeks to May 1.
It said trading was very challenging over the quarter due to inflationary pressure and “increasingly subdued consumer confidence”. The slump in demand comes as food and drink inflation soared by 8.7% in May compared with a year earlier.
David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “These are serious times and there is further serious work ahead of us as we help customers and colleagues face into the highest inflation for 40 years.”
