09/01/2014

Sales Fall For Major Supermarkets

Supermarket chain Morrisons has reported a 5.6% fall in its like-for-like sales in the six weeks to 5 January.

One of its major rivals, Tesco, has also unveiled a decline in their like-for-like sales during the Christmas period of 2.4%.

The news comes just a day after Sainsbury's said it's sales had increased by 0.2% over the 14 weeks to 4 January.

Discussing the results, Morrisons said its results were due to a lack of online presence and competition by other supermarket chains such as Lidl and Aldi. In a statement, the supermarket said: "The difficult market conditions were intensified for Morrisons by the accelerating importance of the online and convenience channels, where Morrisons is currently under-represented, and by targeted couponing which was particularly prevalent in the market this Christmas."

The supermarket chain is, however, due to enter the online shopping market tomorrow (10 January) as part of a trial process.

For Tesco, the firm said the sales decline was due to "further weakness in the UK grocery market", while its overseas sales fell by 0.7%.

Philip Clarke, Chief Executive of Tesco, added that decision to open fewer stores in the UK was also behind the drop in sales.

He continued: "As expected, this Christmas saw a further consumer shift towards multichannel retailing, and Tesco continues to play a leading role. The increasing focus we have placed in recent years on extending our lead in online grocery and on rolling out our Express format to over 1,600 stores in the UK alone has positioned us well to meet customers' changing needs.

"Our overseas performance has improved since the third quarter, driven by an improving trend in Europe. This is despite continuing external challenges, including the recent political disruption in Thailand."

(JP)

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