Morrisons continues to grow as discount stores slow down
Morrisons continues to grow faster than its competitors in the grocery market, with sales increasing by 9.5%. A strong ‘Price Crunch’ message and focus on fresh produce has been credited for the year on year increases.
The growth of the mid-market chain comes as discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, slow. The finding comes from the latest TNS Worldpanel for the 12 weeks ending 12th July 2009.
The figures showed Morrisons market share rose 0.4%, taking its total share to 11.6%. Shares in the supermarket rose by 9% this morning after it reported it expects to post higher than forecast annual profits.
Morrisons boost was followed by up-market chain Waitrose which posted a growth figure of 8.2%, this was credited to its heavily marketed ‘Essentials’ range and new stores opening on old Somerfield sites.
Last week Waitrose MD Mark Price said TNS Worldpanel and Nielsen figures put the chain above Marks & Spencer in terms of food sales for the first time.
Rival chains Asda and Sainsburys also performed well, both up to 17% and 16% respectively.
TNS also found grocery price inflation had decreased in the 12 week period, falling 3.2% points since March. Inflation prices are based on over 750,000 identical products purchased by British shoppers.
