Third-quarter sales at Morrisons rose by an impressive 8.1 per cent, the chain has revealed, thanks to its efforts to keep costs down for shoppers.
In the 13-week period to November 2, like-for-like sales including fuel rose 13.3 per cent.
Morrisons had already reported a 7.6 per cent rise in the first half of this year.
Earlier this week, the UK’s number one Tesco only unveiled a two per cent rise in like-for-like sales for the third quarter.
More than 700,000 new shoppers are visiting Morrisons each week, which the chain attributes to its attempts to keep costs down across its grocery range, according to the Press Association.
Chief executive Marc Bolland said: "In this challenging economic environment more customers than ever before are choosing Morrisons.
"Our industry-leading deals and unique fresh food offer have attracted over 700,000 new customers to our stores."
The fourth-largest grocery chain in the UK also said that it has agreed to buy 38 former Somerfield and Co-op Food stores for £223.1 million, which it described as its first big deal since its acquisition of Safeway in 2004.
Steve Gates, managing partner of The Gap Partnership, said: “As the credit crunch hits UK consumers, supermarkets are fighting for spend by slashing prices and introducing new lines of own-brand goods. Today, against the current economic conditions, we saw Morrisons’ sales rise sharply, just two days since Tesco suffered its weakest sales growth since the mid 1990s.
“The Morrisons’ Price Crunch range has drawn extra customers using quality products at cheap prices. Key to this is its strong supplier relationships.
“Both Morrisons and its suppliers have adopted a constructive relationship. Price is an important negotiating point, and even more so in these times.
“But it is not the only one. In this deal, both sides have focused on other variables such as storage, delivery and promotional investment. The ultimate winner is the British consumer.”
No comments yet