Aldi closes in on Waitrose as the discounters scent blood
The challenges facing Britain’s big four grocers was further laid bare yesterday after new data revealed that Aldi was poised to overtake Waitrose to become the country’s sixth biggest supermarket.
Kantar Worlpanel data released yesterday showed Aldi’s sales jumped 32 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 20 July, bringing its market share within one percentage point of John Lewis’s upmarket grocery chain at 4.8 per cent.
Fellow German discounter Lidl similarly saw sales leap by 19.5 per cent and it held on to its share of 3.6 per cent. The pair now have a combined record share of 8.4 per cent, just 2.6 per cent below Morrisons, which continued to lose customers. The Bradford-based grocer was the second worst performer after seeing sales fall by 3.8 per cent in the 12-week period, with its market share down from 11.5 to 11 per cent.
Tesco, which issued a fresh profit warning last week, suffered a new record decline in sales, also down 3.8 per cent year-on-year. Its market share dropped to 28.9 per cent from 30.3 per cent last time.
Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said: “Tesco and Morrisons now lose more than the discounters gain because other retailers are also gaining market share.”