Morrisons turns to Ant and Dec after disappointing Christmas sales
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons today said it saw a drop in trading over the crucial Christmas period and admitted it needs to raise its game in online, convenience and promotional sales.
The Bradford-based group saw like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, fall 2.5% in the six weeks to December 30 while total sales excluding fuel were down 0.9% over the period.
Morrisons described the sales decline as “disappointing” and chief executive Dalton Philips said the group would accelerate its “multi-channel offer”, while it has signed up Geordie TV duo Ant and Dec to help revive its flagging fortunes.
The group said that the Christmas period “continued to be challenging with hard pressed consumers increasingly shopping to a budget and vouchering a prominent feature of a highly promotional market”.
It said it expected difficult market conditions to continue throughout this year but it believes its full year performance will be in line with expectations.
Mr Philips said: “In a difficult market our sales performance was lower than anticipated, but we have a strong business and significant opportunities to advance our strategy, as we accelerate our multi-channel offer.”
Ant and Dec will now feature in Morrisons’ advertisements while the supermarket will sponsor their ITV shows Britain’s Got Talent and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway as part of the deal with broadcaster ITV.
Morrisons was advised on the deal by Andy Brian and Chris Strowbridge, solicitors in the commercial contracts team at Yorkshire law firm Gordons, which has been principal legal adviser to the supermarket group for more than 40 years.
The group, which has 482 stores, will use the partnership to showcase its traditional skills – more than 5,000 trained butchers, bakers and fishmongers – which it says sets it apart from the rest of Britain’s major supermarkets.
Recent industry data has shown Morrisons losing market share to big rivals Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, as well as Aldi and Lidl.
During the four weeks ending December 2, Morrisons spent £7.1m on TV and press advertising, while Tesco was the highest spending at £11.8m, followed by Asda at £11.2m then Sainsbury’s at £7.3m.
The partnership with Ant and Dec is the first to combine sponsorship of ITV programmes, with a major celebrity endorsement and advertising programme.
Mr Philips added: “This deal puts us in the homes of millions of potential new Morrisons customers every Saturday night and gives us the opportunity to showcase the talent that shoppers won’t see in any other supermarket.”
Ant and Dec said: “We love making shows the whole family can enjoy and Morrisons is a great family brand, so this partnership is the perfect fit.”
