Private equity owned Morrisons lags further behind rivals

Morrisons falls further behind rivals as its problems under private equity ownership continue

Morrisons has lost yet more ground against rival grocers as its woes under private equity ownership continue.

The Bradford-based supermarket, once the UK’s fourth biggest, was the only major player except Waitrose to see sales fall in the last three months.

It suffered a 1.9 per cent drop, with overall sales in the 12 weeks to January 22 coming in at just under £3.1billion.

Losing ground: Morrisons, once the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket chain, was the only major player except Waitrose to see sales fall in the last three months

The rest of the traditional Big Four – Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda – all grew sales by at least 6 per cent, Kantar figures showed.

Aldi, which ousted Morrisons from its coveted fourth-place spot after 18 years last September, extended its lead and was the UK’s fastest growing supermarket in the period.

Sales soared by 26.9 per cent to over £3.1billion as shoppers flooded in to cut the cost of a weekly shop.

Lidl also benefited from an influx of new shoppers, with sales jumping 24.1 per cent to £2.4billion.

Morrisons’ share of the grocery market is 9.1 per cent, behind Aldi on 9.2 per cent. It now faces the prospect of being overtaken by Lidl, which makes up 7.1 per cent of the market.

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