Aldi And Lidl 'Go Mainstream In Market War'

[dutchman]

Amid stellar growth of up to 32%, the two supermarket chains continue to attract more of middle Britain for the weekly shop.



Discount supermarket chain Aldi has seen its market share grow by a third in the last year, according to new research.

The group saw total till revenue in the three months to February 2, excluding fuel, rise to £1.1bn.

The figure was a soaring 32% above the same period last year, according to Kantar Worldpanel. It now has 4.1% total market share.

Fellow German-based discounter Lidl also saw double digit growth in the three months.

Lidl's till receipts reached £854.8m in the period, taking its share to 3.2%.

Meanwhile, data for the big supermarket chains showed mixed results on revenue.

Britain's biggest chain, Tesco, saw a drop of 0.4% while number four Morrisons saw sales decline 2.5%.

Asda and Sainsbury's, which were equal second with 17.1% of the market, reported rises of 0.5% and 2.7% respectively.

Asda is now believed to have pulled clear into second place with 17.3% of the market while Sainsbury's remains at 17.1%.

Kantar Worldpanel retail analyst Fraser McKevitt said: “Double digit growth helped Aldi and Lidl to gain market share, as shopper habits evolve from using the so called discounters to pick up a few items in between shops to them being considered an acceptable place for the weekly shopping trip.

"Aldi and Lidl together now account for 7.3% of sales, up 1.3% percentage points from last year."

Waitrose was the third biggest riser after the discounters, with sales up 5.6% compared with a year ago.

The data suggests Waitrose has now grown to snare 4.9% of the total market.

[dutchman]

Aldi set to overtake Waitrose as Britain's sixth largest supermarket



Aldi is poised to overtake Waitrose as Britain's sixth largest supermarket, according to new industry data.

Sales for the discount German retailer grew by 32.2pc in the 12 weeks to July 20, giving it a market share of 4.8pc, just behind Waitrose's 4.9pc, Kantar Worldpanel said.

Aldi and Lidl are the fastest growing food retailers in the UK, with sales for Lidl also rising 19.5pc. The discount chains are grabbing shoppers from the traditional "big four" supermarkets, which includes Tesco, Asda, J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison.

At the other end of the grocery market, Waitrose is also growing. The upmarket grocery retailer, which is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, increased sales by 3.4pc in the 12 weeks.

Tesco is the worst performing major supermarket chain in the UK alongside Wm Morrison, with sales sliding by 3.8pc in the last 12 weeks, according to the data.

Tesco's market share fell from 30.3pc at the same point a year ago to 28.9pc.

In contrast to Tesco and Morrisons, Asda grew sales by 0.9pc and Sainsbury's by 1.2pc. However, The Co-operative, Britain's fifth largest grocery retailer, saw its sales fall by 2.1pc.

[dutchman]

Every other household shopped at Aldi or Lidl this summer

Half of all households shopped at Aldi or Lidl at least once over the summer as the budget retailers continued to lure customers from the traditional supermarkets.

The two overseas-based discounters held their market share of 4.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively in the period, as they kept the 'big four' supermarkets under considerable pressure.

The budget stores are proving an increasing threat to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrison's as more shoppers discover the low-cost groceries and cut-price luxuries that they offer.

Aldi has announced that from next Thursday it will be selling ostrich meat, for £4.99 for a pack of two 150g steaks.

The offering follows in its successful promotion of Wagyu steaks, often considered the best been in the world, for £6.99.

Meanwhile Lidl is set to take on Primark, Asda and Tesco in the affordable fashion stakes by launching a new female clothing range.

The German retailer will branch out from its basic range of underwear and children's clothing - to a collection including a £14.99 'leather' jacket, stretch skinny jeans for £6.99, and shirts for £5.99.

Prices at supermarket tills fell overall, the survey from Kantar Worldpanel found, standing at 0.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to August 17 – a fall in real terms once inflation is factored in.

Price inflation has fallen now for 11 consecutive quarters, leaving overall sales growth at another ten-year low of 0.8 per cent.

Prices were driven down by competition among the big supermarkets and falls in the price of staple items such as vegetables, milk and bread, according to Kantar.

Asda, Waitrose and Farm Foods all performed better than the market overall, despite tough market conditions.

Asda, the first of the big four supermarkets to start a long-term price cutting programme, saw sales lift 1.2 per cent and its market share edge up from 17.1 per cent to 17.2 per cent.