Sainsbury‘s has made significant inroads into UK market share and sales as Tesco and Asda‘s sales declined.
Figures released by Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks ending 18 August 2013, show sustained growth for Sainsbury‘s throughout 2013.
John Coll, Director at Kantar Worldpanel, commented: “Sainsbury‘s has continued to grow ahead of the market over the past 12 weeks, achieving sales growth of 4.9 per cent. It benefitted from its support of the Paralympics last year and its growth has continued since then.”
The supermarket, which is 25.999 per cent owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, now holds 16.5 per cent of the grocery market and is the only one of the big four to make gains in share this period.
Among the other big four retailers, Asda‘s performance has slowed but it remains the number two grocer with 17.1 per cent of the market. Morrison‘s market share is down 0.2 per cent to 11.3 per cent but it posted sales growth of 1.8 per cent. Meanwhile, number one retailer Tesco recorded a fall in market share from 30.9 per cent to 30.2 per cent as it faces challenges from both ends of the market.
Coll added: “Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl remain strong with sales growth well above the market average at 9.1 per cent, 31.9 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively. Aldi and Lidl maintain a record market share for the discount sector at 6.8 per cent, with respective shares of 3.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent as some consumers continue to adapt their shopping strategies as pressure on wallets continues.”
Coll commented that the latest EasyfoodStore supermarket venture from Sir Stelious Haji-Ioannou, which hopes to take a slice out of the discount grocery market, could ‘certainly succeed‘ but added that it was too early to tell.
The hot weather has had a positive effect for many categories with ice cream sales up 21 per cent, sun care products by 37 per cent and hayfever remedies up by 37 per cent compared with a year ago.
Grocery inflation remains at 3.9 per cent for the 12 week period ending 18 August 2013
