Morrisons cuts own-brand prices for second time this month

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Morrisons is cutting the price of its own-label range for the second time in less than a month as it comes under increasing pressure from market rivals.

Basket Morrisons

Morrisons will cut prices on a further 64 products from its own-brand range

The supermarket said it would cut prices on a further 64 products from its own-brand range by almost a fifth on average, its fifth “significant price activity” since the beginning of the year.

Products seeing a reduction include potatoes, carrots, rice and coffee.

David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “We are just seven weeks into 2023 and already this is our fifth significant price activity of the year.

“These latest price cuts follow hard on the heels of two notable in-store price cuts involving well over 1,000 products and two strong fuel promotions, demonstrating our determination and commitment to make a positive difference to our customers’ pockets.”

The move is the latest in a round of price-cutting initiatives by the major supermarkets as the price war intensifies.

Waitrose has announced it will invest a record £100m in lowering prices, while Asda said it would lock down 600 own-brand prices until the end of May.

The latest round of price changes by Morrisons comes as the credit rating agency Moody’s calculated its free cashflow of £142m turned negative in 2022 when it was wiped out by a £375m interest expense and lease interest of £57m.

Moody’s latest report found that Morrisons could only cover half its interest bill through earnings and would need to use cash reserves and other facilities to cover the rest.