Morrisons has reported stronger sales over the past three months, but warned it is monitoring the potential fallout from the Middle East conflict on consumer confidence and supply chains. The supermarket group said total sales rose 2.6% to £4.1 billion in the 13 weeks to January 25, driven by a much-improved Christmas performance and investment in lower prices.
Chief executive Rami Baitieh said the company is “alert” to the impact of the Iran war and assessing how shopping habits and product supply might be affected. “We are watching current international events closely, alert to the impacts on consumer confidence and supply chains, and we will continue to do what we can to mitigate effects on our customers,” he added.
Morrisons noted that it is “tough for customers right now” and committed to further investment in pricing, promotions, and loyalty initiatives. The retailer delivered £49 million in cost savings during the quarter as part of a transformation programme aimed at improving competitiveness.
Baitieh said: “Against a highly competitive backdrop, with grocery market growth lagging previous expectations, we achieved our targets in Q1, delivering our 13th quarter of like-for-like sales growth. We know it’s tough for customers right now and we’re doing everything we can to offer them better value.”
The Bradford-based grocer has been battling pressure from discount rivals Aldi and Lidl, as well as price-focused strategies from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Asda. Morrisons said it saw sales volumes grow thanks to price cuts during a period of intense competition among UK supermarkets.
