Morrisons boss says turnaround is in ‘full swing’ as sales grew at fastest rate for three years

Morrisons’ new boss says his turnaround is ‘well underway’ after sales grew at their fastest pace in three years.

After struggling to make progress following its private equity takeover, the supermarket said sales in the three months to January 31 were 4.6 percent higher than a year earlier.

The company has since launched a price match program for Aldi and Lidl to build on its success following a period of turmoil since Morrisons was bought for £7 billion by US private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2022 and its position as the UK’s largest company lost. the fourth largest supermarket after Aldi.

CEO Rami Baitieh, who took over in November, said his plan to “reinvigorate, refresh and strengthen” Morrisons was paying off.

He said: “Those plans are well underway. There is a real sense of optimism and renewal as we return to a growth path.” And he said customer complaints have dropped by almost 60 percent in the past 20 weeks.

Rival Asda has also struggled after being bought by private equity firm TDR Capital for £6.8 billion in 2020.

Industry figures showed Asda’s sales in the 12 weeks to March 17 were just 0.2 percent higher than a year earlier.

In contrast, Morrisons saw sales increase by 3.6 percent, although its market share fell to 8.7 percent, compared to 8.8 percent a year ago.

The purchases of Morrisons and Asda have raised questions about whether private equity is a suitable owner of companies in crucial sectors such as food.