By Ian Walker
LONDON--Asda was the best performer out of the top four
supermarkets, while Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose continued to steal
market share, according to a survey Tuesday.
In the 12 weeks ended Nov. 9, Asda, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. (WMT), maintained its market share at 17.2%, compared
with the comparable period ended Nov. 10, 2013, according to
Kantar, which monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of
25,000 demographically representative households in the U.K.
Aldi and Lidl's joint market share has risen to 8.4% from 6.9%,
while Waitrose' market share has risen to 5.1% from 4.8%.
"Aldi continues to benefit from the disruption within the
grocery market. Its sales are 25.5% higher than last year and the
retailer now has a record-high market share of 4.9%," Fraser
McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel
said.
For the 12 weeks ended Nov. 9, Tesco PLC's (TSCO.LN) market
share fell to 28.7% from 29.8%, while J. Sainsbury PLC's (SBRY.LN)
fell to 16.4% from 16.8%. Wm Morrisons Supermarkets PLC's (MRW.LN)
market share fell to 11.1%, from 11.5%.
"The major supermarkets have all had a difficult period, hit by
both the flow of shoppers toward the discounters and reduced
revenues as they competitively cut prices," Mr. McKevitt said.
However, while Tesco's sales are down, Mr. McKevitt said it is
worth noting that the rate at which it is losing market share has
slowed.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
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