Morrisons set to take on Aldi and Lidl after posting £176m loss
Supermarket chain Morrisons is to slash prices in its stores after it reported a major slump in profits in the face of competition from discount stores Aldi and Lidl.
The retailer posted a pre-tax loss of £176m for the year to 2 February and posted a 2.8 per cent fall in like-for-like sales over the last 12 months.
Morrisons was hit by a one-off £903m writedown of its property, IT and its investment in Kiddicare, a baby product business which drew a disappointing performance.
Chief executive Dalton Philips said the Bradford-based chain would invest more than £1bn in price cuts over the next three years to combat discounters and competition from the ‘big four’ supermarkets.
"Customers will see this in our stores as well as in our fast growing online and convenience offers," he said.
"At the same time we will exit non-core activities, significantly reduce our capital expenditure and deliver improved operating cashflow and return on capital employed."