Morrisons rings up record sales

12 April 2012

Supermarket chain Morrisons continued its recovery with record sales in the week before Christmas.

The Bradford-based firm said the final week of trading before Christmas gave it a much needed boost following "muted" business earlier in December.

It ensured like-for-like sales at its stores open for a year or more were 6% higher in the six-week Christmas and New Year period than they were 12 months earlier.

The supermarket said: "Whilst trading in the run-up to Christmas was muted, the week immediately prior to Christmas saw a record performance."

It echoed comments from Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose, who on Tuesday said retailers endured a "rollercoaster ride" in the build-up to Christmas with shoppers leaving it late to buy food and presents.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's will report on its Christmas trading performance on Thursday.

Morrisons said that sales growth excluding fuel was 6.3% in the six-week festive period.

It added that control of stock left over after Christmas meant there was less waste and fewer mark-downs than a year ago.

The strong performance helped resurgent Morrisons maintain the momentum of the first half of the year when it bounced back from its troubled £3 billion takeover of rival Safeway.

Morrisons said like-for-like sales were up 6.3% for the 49 weeks to January 7, having grown 6.6% in the first half.

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