12th Jan 2016 08:16
LONDON (Alliance News) - J Sainsbury PLC once more emerged as the only 'Big Four' winner in the latest UK grocery sales figures from Kantar Worldpanel, with Tesco PLC, Asda Ltd and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC all suffering further declines.
Sainsbury's sales for the 12 weeks to January 3 rose 0.8% year-on-year, with its market share inching up to 17.0% from 16.9% the year earlier. The company has been consistently outperforming its rivals in recent months.
Tesco, still the market-share leader by some distance, saw sales decline 2.7% over the period, while its market share declined to 28.3% from 29.1%. Morrisons, which dropped out of the FTSE 100 at the end of 2015 after struggling all year, saw its sales decline 2.6%, with its market share slipping to 11.0% from 11.3%.
Asda, owned by US giant Wal-Mart Stores, saw sales fall 3.5%, Kantar said, and its market share fall to 16.2% from 16.8%, as it continued to take the biggest hit from the challenge of fast-growing German discounters Aldi and Lidl.
The combined market share of Aldi and Lidl was 9.7% for the period, however, a slight dip from the 10% the pair had reached in the last two Kantar reports. Still, year-on-year, Aldi sales rose 13% and Lidl sales by 19%, illustrating the challenge they pose to the Big Four supermarkets.
The other star performer in the period was Waitrose, the more upmarket chain owned by John Lewis Partnership, where sales rose 1.5% and its market share rose to 5.2% from 5.1%.
Total sales for the UK grocery market were down 0.2% in the period, hit by continuing price deflation.
Tesco shares were up 5.3% in early trade to 153.20 pence, the best performer in the FTSE 100, while Sainsbury's shares were up 3.0% to 250.60p, the third best performer in the blue-chip index.
Morrisons shares also benefited, up 11% to 168.96 pence, the second-best performer in the FTSE 250, as it delivered an improved trading performance over the Christmas period.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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