Morrisons posts Q3 results after M&S poaches CEO
Morrisons, the supermarket chain whose CEO Marc Bolland was poached by Marks & Spencer yesterday, has reported a sales increase of 9.1% in the third quarter.
The supermarket chain says sales continued to grow ahead of the market and reported like for like sales for the three months to 1 November were up 4.3%.
Morrisons, the fourth biggest supermarket chain in the UK, says it is gaining customers and had added 1.6 million new shoppers since the introduction of its “Food Specialist for Everyone” strategy two years ago.
It was announced yesterday that Bolland would replace Sir Stuart Rose as M&S chief executive at the end of Morrisons’ financial year in February.
The company has begun a process to replace Bolland, looking at internal and external candidates.
Shortly after yesterday’s announcement, Morrisons’ share price fell 5% while M&S share prices rose by 5%.
Bolland says: “Morrisons continues to grow ahead of the market driven by our award winning combination of outstanding quality, fresh food and great value. I am pleased that more and more customers are attracted to Morrisons, as we continue our journey from national to nationwide.”
Asda posted a 5.6% rise in like for like sales for the three months to 30 September, Sainsbury’s a 45.4% increase for the three months to 3 October while Tesco lags behind with 3.1% like for like growth in the three months to 29 August.
