Supermarket Morrisons has said that third quarter sales were up following the introduction of its new ‘The Best’ range as well as its “biggest ever” Halloween.

In the 13 weeks to October 30th, like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 1.6%, with like-for-like transactions up 4.1%. Total sales were down 1.2% excluding fuel, due to branch closures and the exit of M Local.

During the period, the chain introduced its new premium brand The Best, with hundreds of products already launched and more being rolled out in the run-up to Christmas. Morrisons added that its Halloween sales were up 20% compared with last year after the chain vowed to make more effort to focus on key events throughout the year.

David Potts, chief executive, said: "Our like-for-like sales have now been positive for a year, which is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the whole Morrisons team. There is a lot more we plan to do. We will keep investing in becoming more competitive and improving the shopping trip, and I am confident we will serve our customers even better during the important trading period ahead."