UK retailer Morrisons said that its like-for-like sales were up 2.5% in the third quarter of the year (+3.4% including fuel), as the grocer continues its turnaround performance.
Retail like-for-likes were up 2.1% at the retailer, while wholesale was up 0.4%.
'More Competitive'
The group said that it has ‘worked hard’ to limit the impact of the Sterling fluctuation on imported food prices, and is continuing to work towards ‘becoming more competitive’.
"We are pleased with a further step up in our competitiveness and another period of positive like for like sales growth,” said David Potts, Morrisons chief executive.
“I am confident our plans to keep serving customers better will enable us to continue the strong momentum of the year so far, into the important fourth quarter.”
New Initiatives
Among the initiatives rolled out over the course of the year was a new automated ordering system in its stores, which the group says is now ‘fully operational’, and was named Supply Chain Innovation of the Year at the recent IGD Awards.
In addition, the group has increased the range of its Best private label offering to close to a thousand items.
“As we work towards becoming a broader, stronger business, a new Morrisons is taking shape, built by our colleagues on firm balance sheet foundations,” Potts added.
In August, the group signed a supply agreement with convenience group McColl's.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
