Morrisons is eyeing Aldi and Lidl shoppers with price cuts

The Morrisons boss has stepped up the supermarket’s price war with Aldi and Lidl to win back customers.

Morrisons lost its status as Britain’s fourth largest supermarket chain almost two years ago as shoppers switched to German discounters.

Last month, new CEO Rami Baitieh promised to lure back disillusioned consumers, admitting there was “work to be done.”

The supermarket will reduce the cost of staples – from cereal to baby wipes – in line with Aldi and Lidl.

The grocer will compare the prices of hundreds of products with those of its competitors twice a week and reduce them if necessary.

The UK’s largest supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda – already operate their own price match programmes.

Baitieh, who took over from David Potts in November, hopes to lead the beleaguered company to better fortunes. The latest sector data from Kantar shows Morrisons has an 8.8% market share, up from 9.1% a year ago.

Chief Customer and Marketing Officer Rachel Eyre said today: ‘We want to reassure our customers that we have hundreds of products that are the same price or cheaper – with the quality they have come to expect – than the products available from Aldi and Lidl.’

Baitieh said in his first financial update at the helm: “I’m sure (customers) will come back.” He added: “Since the pandemic, Morrisons has not been in great form.

‘Our market share has been declining slowly but steadily, our like-for-likes – although now on an improving and encouraging trend – have been below average for some time, and the switching data is not encouraging.

“While we have many structural, operational and cultural strengths, we cannot be complacent with our recent performance.”

While Morrisons lost market share, Aldi gained 9.3 percent, up from 9.2 percent the year before, and Lidl 7.5 percent, up from 7.1 percent. Tesco and Sainsbury’s also emerged as Christmas winners.

Morrisons racked up mountains of debt – believed to total more than £6 billion – when US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice bought it for £7 billion in 2021. This debt has come under pressure due to rising interest rates.