Tesco Continues to Decline as Iceland Achieves Record Market Share
Tesco, has seen its share of the UK grocery market fall to below 30% for the first time since May 2005. The UK’s largest supermarket group held 29.9% of the market for the 12 weeks ended 22 January 2012, according to the latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel. However, while Tesco’s market share dropped, Iceland put in its strongest performance in ten years. The UK grocery market is growing at 4.2% per year which remains below the food inflation rate as shoppers continue to seek value for money.
Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “There were mixed fortunes among the big four supermarkets this month. The completion of the Netto conversion has led to an all-time record performance for Asda, lifting its share from 16.9% a year ago to 17.5% now. Sainsbury’s has also grown its share to 16.7%, consolidating its strongest hold of the market since March 2003.”
He continues: “In contrast, there is considerable pressure on Tesco, with its growth rate of 2.1% only half the total market average. This has caused its share to fall by 0.6 percentage points.Iceland’s 2.1% share is at its highest for ten years as shoppers continue to manage down their spending.”
The figares are promising for potential buyers of Iceland and highlight the importance of a good value-for-money message in the current UK grocery market. Elsewhere, Aldi and Lidl continue their strong run, both increasing their shares to 3.5% and 2.5% respectively. However, the disappearance of Netto means that the size of the total discount sector is relatively unchanged at 6%.
