Morrisons sees first growth in sales since December 2013

Morrisons’ extensive management shakeup seems to be finally working as the supermarket chain’s latest sales figures indicate growth for the first time since December 2013.

Furthermore, Morrisons is the only supermarket among the big four that has seen sales increase over the last twelve weeks, according to latest figures by Kantar Worldpanel.

The increase during the period ending 24 May 2015 is only 0.1%, but this has given confidence in David Potts as he was appointed Morrisons’ chief executive for ten of the twelve weeks reported.

Among Mr Pott’s changes to the structure of the Bradford-based supermarket include the termination of five major managers in his first week on the job, as well as the aim to create 5,000 new in-store jobs in an attempt to revive Morrisons’ dipping sales by boosting customer service, while another 720 head office roles will be axed.

In addition to the supermarket chain deciding to scrap self-service machines and reintroduce over 1,000 staffed checkouts, the most recent adjustment happened late last week when it was reported that the agriculture manager position has been completely dissolved.

Mr Potts’ strategy to restructure operations at Morrisons is mainly a reaction to the supermarket chain’s dismal start to 2015, which included the foreclosure of 23 storesafter reporting a pretax loss of £792m for the year ending 1st February - compared to a loss of £176m for the same period last year.

These dramatic alterations are now showing results as Morrisons is still performing better than top rivals Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda, even though its increase in sales is less than the grocery sector as a whole, which rose by 0.2%.

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