It is striking how candid managements can be when they do not have to dance to the stock market’s tune. In a blunt assessment of the outlook, the privately-owned Morrisons said this week: “We believe that developments in the geopolitical environment since the beginning of February, as well as ongoing and increasing inflationary pressure, are impacting consumer sentiment and spending, which we expect to adversely impact the wider grocery market.”
For many years, supermarkets outperformed the economy as a whole by sucking in business that had gone to independent grocers and corner shops. But that trend has long been exhausted, exposing the sector to the full force of any downturn.
From investors’ point of view, supermarkets are two businesses in one. They attract customers with
