Morrison cuts 1,000 prices after Brexit vote sends shoppers to discounters

Morrisons has launched the latest offensive in the supermarket price war, cutting prices on more than 1,000 products by an average of 18% on Monday.

Although economists have predicted the Brexit vote could lead to higher grocery prices due to the weaker pound, Morrisons, which made a similar move to cut 1,000 prices at the end of January, will make reductions on 1,045 products, with biggest cuts of up to 56% on toiletries and seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Price cuts range from own-brand products, through to branded goods, such as Haribo Starmix Bag cut from £1.40 to £1, or a four-pack of Branston Baked Beans cut from £2 to £1.50.

The reductions come hot on the heels of industry data last week that showed Morrisons and its fellow Big Four supermarkets all endured a drop in sales in the weeks following the Brexit vote as consumers moved to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.

Morrisons sales fell 1.8%, which was its best results since January and is more to do with the sale of its convenience store estate late last year, while its market share fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.7%.

"We are constantly listening to our customers and know they are concerned about whether food prices will go up following the Brexit vote, especially on imports," said Andy Atkinson, Morrisons’ customer and marketing director.

"Morrisons is unique as a food-maker and shopkeeper, and unlike the rest of the industry manufactures food, both in our own food processing plants and our 500 stores. We are British farming’s biggest supermarket customer, which means we can better control our prices, and this latest round of crunches demonstrates our commitment to offering the best possible value to our customers this summer."