Ant and Dec fail to lift Morrisons as it sees overall 2.6% sales dip
Supermarket chain Morrisons has revealed a fall in like-for-like sales of 2.6 per cent including fuel for its first quarter of the year.
The company has said that it saw like-for-like sales excluding petrol down by 1.8 per cent in the same period last year, while it communicated its points of difference more clearly and aims to 'sharpen' its promotional programs, through its 'More if What Matters' campaign.
Discussions with Ocado over the launch of its first online food operation to launch next January are also ongoing, it revealed.
Dalton Philips, CEO of Morrisons described the figures as "a solid start" to the year: "Our promotions have been more innovative and we are explaining Morrisons points of difference more effectively. These efforts were further reinforced by the horsemeat scandal which helped drive increasing customer recognition of Morrisons unique supply chain and approach to meat sourcing. They now understand that Morrisons is best placed to sell food that is what it says it is.
"Strategically, our ambition of building a genuinely multi-format, multi-channel Morrisons is right on track."
Morrisons called a review of its £73m advertising account at the end of April, currently held by DLKW Lowe, but has said it intends to continue to feature TV presenters Ant and Dec and has targeted 100 new store openings during this financial year.