Morrisons hiked prices more than any other major supermarket last year
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More than any other major supermarket, Morrisons saw an exodus of shoppers last year after prices rose
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Morrisons raised prices more than any other major supermarket last year, prompting an exodus of customers, a report found.
The beleaguered Bradford grocer began raising prices ‘rapidly’ in June, losing more customers than rivals by 2022, according to credit rating agency Moody’s.
It was reportedly the only major supermarket to drive up prices faster than German discounters Lidl and Aldi.
Debt mountain: Morrisons started raising prices ‘rapidly’ in June, losing more customers than rivals by 2022
And the surges bleed its market share, losing its spot as the UK’s fourth-largest grocer.
The latest report from Moody’s raises further alarm over Morrisons’ direction since its £7bn acquisition by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in 2021.
Morrisons owns just 9.1 percent of the market, down from 10 percent before the deal, but up from 9 percent a month ago.
It is struggling under the weight of a mountain of £6bn of debt built up to fund the takeover.
The cost of paying off this debt rises as interest rates rise and as a result it has pushed prices up faster than rivals.
The customer exodus since the takeover led to humiliation when Aldi replaced it in the supermarket Big Four in September.
It was a blow to Sir Terry Leahy, the former Tesco boss who spearheaded the deal and is chairman of Morrisons.
In an interview with the Daily Mail last month, former Morrisons chief executive Paul Manduca said founder Sir Ken Morrison was ‘turning in his grave’.
And in a warning that is likely to set alarm bells ringing for Leahy, Moody’s said that, as things stand, Lidl could also overtake Morrisons “within the next few years”.