Aldi’s lead over rival Morrisons widens after another slide in sales 

Morrisons has lost further ground to Aldi after another slide in sales.

In just the latest setback for the Bradford-based supermarket chain following its private equity takeover, industry figures from Kantar showed revenues at Morrisons hit £3billion in the 12 weeks to February 19.

That was down 0.9 per cent on a year earlier and left the company with a 9 per cent share of the UK grocery market. 

Sales slump: Industry figures from Kantar showed revenues at Morrisons hit £3bn in the 12 weeks to February 19. By contrast, sales at Aldi jumped 26.7%

By contrast, sales at Aldi jumped 26.7 per cent to £3.2billion, giving it a 9.4 per cent market share.

A year ago, 9.8 per cent of spending on groceries was at Morrisons while just 8 per cent was at Aldi.

But Morrisons was pushed off its spot as the country’s fourth biggest grocer last year by Aldi.

Shoppers have switched from the traditional ‘Big Four’ grocers – once Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – to cheaper Aldi and Lidl stores in their droves amid a cost of living crunch.

Lidl boosted sales by 25.4 per cent, winning 7.1 per cent of the market.

Morrisons has struggled after its debt-fuelled £7bn takeover by New York-based private equity giant Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) two years ago. Critics warned the takeover would lead to elevated prices. 

And an average basket of groceries at the supermarket has soared 18 per cent in the past year to £75, according to The Grocer magazine.

Supermarkets have raised prices for a basket of shopping by an average of 13.2 per cent, with Morrisons’s hike more than this.

Tesco – the largest supermarket with 27.3 per cent of the grocery market – saw sales up by 6.6 per cent over the 12-week period. Sainsbury’s was up 6.2 per cent and Asda 5.9 per cent. 

Waitrose managed to return to growth, pushing sales by a meagre 0.7 per cent.