Today in retail: Morrisons' extra festive cheer surprises

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So how did Morrisons achieve its best Christmas in seven years?

The grocer’s straight-talking boss David Potts made it sound very simple today when he said: “We stocked more of what our customers wanted to buy”.

The resurgent Bradford-based retailer, which reported a 2.9% jump in like-for-likes in the nine weeks to January 1, fared well on vegetables, party food, Prosecco, clothing and its premium range ‘Best’.

In particular, a “three for £1” deal on vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts and parsnips, helped Morrisons smash analysts’ expectations.

And in an indication that impressive sales has not meant diminishing margins, the grocer was even able to raise its earnings forecast for the rest of its financial year. Impressive stuff.

Rival Tesco will also be toasting Kantar figures out today that show its sales rose 1.3% in the 12 weeks to January 1. The Co-op also revealed it had a bumper Christmas.

Elsewhere, Majestic Wine had plenty to celebrate after unveiling a 7.5% jump in Christmas like-for-likes, while Boohoo raised its revenue forecasts again.

Latest BRC-KPMG figures showed Christmas was bigger than Black Friday, which will be music to the ears of many retailers.

And we revealed that fashion etailer Missguided is set to make its physical mark outside of the M25.

Quote of the day

“Our ad campaign was well received…in a world full of schmaltzy CGI competitor adverts, it stood out as authentic and a true example of the Co-op difference.”

– Co-op retail boss Steve Murrells has a dig at rivals over Christmas ads