Industry data from Kantar Worldpanel has shown that Aldi has overtaken the Co-operative to become Britain’s fifth biggest supermarket.
The German-owned retailer saw it sales rise by 12.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 29 January, increasing its overall market share to 6.2 per cent, just ahead of the 6 per cent held by the Co-op.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Underpinned by an extensive programme of store openings, the past quarter has seen Aldi attract 826,000 more shoppers than during the same period last year.” “Just a decade ago Aldi was the UK’s tenth largest food retailer, accounting for less than 2% of the grocery market. “Since then the grocer has grown rapidly, climbing the rankings by an impressive five places.”
Rival German-owned discounter Lidl also saw a rise in sales across the 12-week period, however hold only a 4.5 per cent market share, sitting just behind Waitrose, who hold a 5.3 per cent share. It’s not all negative for the Co-op however, with them seeing a 2 per cent sales increase, which was was well ahead of the market and was a continuation of the trend of growth the company has experienced over the last 18 months.
Mr McKevitt said: “A significant own label sales increase of 7% was behind [Co-op’s] strong performance, with healthier ranges successfully catering to consumers’ good intentions for the new year.”
Tesco continues to hold their place as Britain’s biggest retailer, with its share of the market staying steady at 28 per cent. The supermarket giant saw it sales rise 0.3 per cent over the 12-week period, which included the busy Christmas season. Morrisons, the smallest of the “big four”, increased sales by 1.9% per centg gaining market share for the first time since June 2015. Sales stayed exactly the at second-ranked Sainsburys, but fell 1.9 per cent at Asda.
Kantar commented that the supply issues that have been so well-publicised, with the growth of many vegetables and salad items slowing due to poor weather in southern Europe, had affected sales of fresh produce. Mr McKevitt said: “Eleven million households buy courgettes annually, but supply issues contributed to 759,000 fewer shoppers buying them this January – that’s a 31% drop in spending compared with the same month last year.
“Sales of spinach also fell by 12%, in a clear sign that the poor weather in southern Europe has had a tangible impact on British shopping baskets. “If prices continue to rise at the same rate for the rest of 2017, shoppers will find themselves around £27 worse off.”