Morrisons is now taking in just £4million a week more than Lidl – setting the scene for it to be overtaken by its discount rival.
The beleaguered supermarket has already been elbowed out of the top four by Aldi and is close to being eclipsed by its other German budget rival.
Industry figures yesterday revealed that Lidl is almost neck and neck with Morrisons after sales rose 10.7 per cent to just under £3billion in the 12 weeks to August 10.
Sales at Morrisons were just £48million higher over the period having risen by only 0.9 per cent, according to the report by research group Worldpanel.
And while Lidl’s share of the market has jumped from 7.8 per cent to 8.3 per cent in the past year, Morrisons has seen its slice fall from 8.7 per cent to 8.4 per cent.
Analysts said they are confident Lidl will overtake Morrisons in the coming weeks as it presses ahead with a rollout of new stores.
Sales slump: Morrisons has already been elbowed out of the top four by Aldi and is now close to being eclipsed by its other German budget competitor Lidl
Clive Black, retail analyst at Shore Capital, said: ‘Lidl and Morrisons are neck and neck when it comes to UK market share.
The German discounter will take the lead in the near future because it is opening new stores while Morrisons is not and it has stronger underlying trading momentum.’
Lidl plans to open a total of 40 sites by the end of the year, and it seeks to reach 1,000 stores over the next few years.
It also has a ‘very strong private label that it has curated through single ownership with a long-term view for many years’, Black added.
Morrisons has lost sales and market share to rivals since its takeover by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a debt-fuelled £7billion deal in October 2021.
Black said the takeover ‘stopped decent pre-existing trading momentum and materially burdened the supermarket with debt servicing costs that have, in reality, starved the business of the resources necessary to allow it to compete more effectively’.
After Labour piled on costs for retailers at the Budget last year, Morrisons cut more than 350 jobs in March.
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