UK supermarket Morrisons said on Tuesday that its new chief executive’s strategy to improve price competitiveness and develop a loyalty programme is working.
Britain’s number five supermarket chain reported a 4.1% rise in underlying sales in its February to April quarter.
Former Carrefour France boss Rami Baitieh joined as the chief executive in November last year.
Baitieh said that price matching discounters Aldi and Lidl on key items as part of a scheme introduced in February “has had a great start.”
He added that customers’ reaction to Morrisons’ investment in its ‘More Card’ has been “very positive.”
In the past eight months, transactions using the loyalty card have grown by about 35%.
The group is now aiming for 70% of transactions to use the loyalty card in the medium term.
However, monthly industry data is showing Morrisons’ sales growth behind that of bigger rivals, namely market leader Tesco and number two retailer Sainsburys.
Morrisons, which has been owned by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) since 2021, said underlying earnings excluding its fuel business increased 16% to £321 million in the six months to 28 April.
In January, the retailer agreed to sell 337 petrol forecourts to CD&R-owned Motor Fuel Group in a £2.5 billion deal.
Morrisons said its net debt is now £4.0 billion, down 35% from a peak of £6.2 billion.
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