Budget supermarket to open 400 more stores across UK in bid to rival Aldi and Lidl – totalling 2,000 sites by next year
A BUDGET supermarket is set to open 400 more stores across the UK in a bid to rival Aldi and Lidl.
The bargain retailer is aiming to total 2,000 sites by next year.
Morrisons wants to open 400 Morrisons Daily convenience shops as part of its plans to take on retail giants Aldi and Lidl.
The supermarket has set its sights on opening up 2,000 stores across the UK in 2025.
However, the exact list of locations has not yet been revealed.
It comes as the budget chain saw its profits soar by 4.1 per cent over the three months to April.
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Rami Baitieh, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “I am pleased with the overall performance of the business in the second quarter with supermarkets, convenience, wholesale and online all delivering growth and contributing to a 4.1% increase in like-for-like sales.
“Over the last eight months we have listened carefully to over 340,000 customers, colleagues and suppliers and the insights from this exercise are helping to refine and shape the activity in all three pillars of our strategy: commercial excellence, operations optimisation and new value creation.”
The supermarket also reported that it has reduced its debt level from a staggering £6.2billion to £4billion.
Mr Baitieh noted that Morrisons has been on a par with its competitors after introducing "Aldi and Lidl Price Match" scheme in February.
He added: “It’s clear that availability and our loyalty scheme are the two areas our customers talk about the most and so we are focusing intensively on these areas.
“Our Aldi and Lidl Price Match, introduced in February, has had a great start and is giving customers increasing confidence in the competitiveness of our prices across the shop.”
It comes amid Morrisons' 125th anniversary celebrations which saw the supermarket launch offers for customers across the UK.
To mark the supermarket's birthday, Morrisons is selling the iconic Cadbury Freddo bar at its original price of just 10p.
The bite-size 18g Dairy Milk bars typically retail for 25p, but for a limited time the price will be reduced, allowing nostalgic customers to save a whopping 60 per cent on the beloved chocolate treat.
During its birthday month, Morrisons has also organised other deals and activities.
HISTORY OF MORRISONS: FROM EGG AND BUTTER STALL TO BRITISH STAPLE
WILLIAM Morrison first started the business as an egg and butter stall in Bradford in 1899.
In 1952, his son Ken Morrison took over the company and opened a small shop in the city centre.
It was the first self-service store in Bradford, the first store to have prices on its products, and it had three checkouts.
The first Morrison supermarket opened its doors in 1961 in Girlington district of Bradford.
In 1967, the company became publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In October 2021, the supermarket was sold to a private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
As of February 2021, Morrisons served 11 million customers each week and employed 110,000 workers.
Morrisons is the fifth largest supermarket in the UK by market share after Aldi.
This includes the supermarket's biggest-ever "Basket Bonus", which allows loyalty customers to win points, bigger rewards and free products, with a chance to become a More Points Millionaire.
Morrisons is also launching a £1million charitable fund to enhance community spaces across the country and has special offers on its most loved products.
Meanwhile, thousands of struggling families are set to be paid £90 in supermarket vouchers within weeks.
The vouchers will be sent to families between July 8-18 and can be used in Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons or Tesco.
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Households in North East Lincolnshire who need help paying for food and bills will be eligible for the scheme.
The maximum payment available to each household is £250.