Kantar update: Big Four remain under pressure; Morrisons and Co-Op showing signs of improvement

Latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks ending 7 July 2013, show the big four supermarkets under pressure as a result of continued market polarisation. . Lidl grew its market share to 3.1%, an all-time high for the discounter, while Aldi retained its record 3.6% which it established during the last period. The growth rate at Waitrose remained strong at 10.9%, nearly three times the market average, and means the retailer now accounts for 4.8% of the market. Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, commented: “Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl have all been hugely successful in recent years, growing well ahead of the market average. Together, these retailers now account for 11.5% of the grocery market, 3.2 percentage points more than they did this time four years ago. This trend has cut deeply into the available market share for the bigger retailers who are now having to compete for a contracting middle ground.” Among the big four supermarkets, Tesco and Asda saw their share dip with only Sainsbury’s managing to not lose share in the past year with year-on-year growth of 3.8%. Morrisons continued to lose market share, although the retailer’s sales growth has shown progressive improvement during 2013 – rising from the low of -1.7% in January to the current figure of 1.8%. The embattled Co-operative Group shrugged off the woes in its banking arm as its food business saw sales growth for the first time since February. It sales edged 0.2% higher, although its market share remained under pressure, dropping from 6.6% to 6.4%. Meanwhile, the Kantar Worldpanel data showed that recent price matching campaigns at the larger retailers have served to shine a spotlight on private label quality. Garner said: “The latest price matching promotions from retailers have reduced the amount consumers are shopping around, with many people feeling that they can get the same prices at different retailers. “As a result we are seeing an increased focus on quality. Both Tesco Finest and Sainsbury’s ‘Taste the Difference’ ranges are now growing strongly and Aldi’s ‘Like Brands only Cheaper’ campaign and Lidl’s ‘Taste Test’ are positioning their private products as direct competitors to major brands.” The Kantar Worldpanel data also showed that grocery inflation remained at 3.9% in the 12 week period. This was only slightly higher than the market growth of 3.7% which means that the pressure on households to trade down has decreased compared with last period. These findings are based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 7 July 2013. Kantar Worldpanel monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households in Great Britain. All data discussed in the above announcement is based on the value of items being bought by these consumers. NamNews - Wednesday 17th July 2013