Morrisons Slashes Prices Once Again as Shares Hit Eight-Year Low

Struggling supermarket chain Morrisons has announced another price offensive, slashing the cost of a further 135 products in an effort to claw back some market share.

Morrisons share value fell by over 1% in early morning trading to around 186.70p following the announcement - a drop of 28% so far this year, marking the lowest point since April 2006.

The Bradford based chain said the average price cut on "everyday essentials" such as flour, bread and sugar will be 14%.

"These are permanent price cuts, not promotions, and they won't be the last," said chief executive Dalton Philips.

The reductions are just the beginning of Morrisons' strategy to slash prices worth £1bn (€1.3bn, $1.7bn) over the next three years.

Morrisons has been under constant and ever increasing scrutiny recently as it struggles to meet the demands of an ever changing grocery market.

As consumers flock to budget stores such as Lidl and Aldi, mid-market chains such as Morrisons, Tesco and Asda, have been left to deal with declining profits. Morrisons has also been late off the mark in offering an online shopping and delivery service.

And the pressure is mounting. At its most recent AGM, Sir Ken Morrison, former chairman of Morrisons, launched a scathing attack on Philips, branding his plans to rejuvenate the store as "bulls***".

"When I left work and started working as a hobby, I chose to raise cattle. I have something like 1000 bullocks and, having listened to your presentation, Dalton, you've got a lot more bulls*** than me," said Morrison.

Morrisons has announced plans to slash 2,600 jobs as part of its restructuring programme.