continue to surpass all other U.K. supermarkets in terms of sales growth and share of the market, according to data released recently by Kantar Worldpanel.For example, Aldi’s sales jumped 33.5 percent for the 12 weeks ending 2 March GBP 1.1 million (USD 1.8 million, EUR 1.3 million), while frozen foods discounter Farm Foods sales spiked 41.8 percent to GBP 188,355 (USD 314,213/EUR 225,486). Discounter Lidl also realized a signficiant spike in sales for the quarter, climbing 16.6 percent to GBP 833,542 (USD 1.4 million).
The discount supermarket chains are doing well because of the challenging economy in the U.K. and because they have increased and improved their perishables selection, consultants said. “Discounters — Aldi especially — have gotten a lot better at what they are doing and improved their ranges. They have extended their fresh offerings and made it better, and considerably cheaper than anybody else,” said John Ibbotson, owner of grocery consulting firm Retail Vision in West Yorkshire, U.K.
While discounters such as Aldi don’t have merchandising cases full of fresh fish fillets, they do offer many pre-packaged fresh seafood items. Plus, they compete with top retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s by offering their frozen seafood range at a significantly lower price. For example, Aldi is currently selling a 10-pack of Northern Catch frozen fish fingers for GBP 1.19 (USD 1.99, EUR 1.43) per package.
Supermarkets that are losing market share are those that traditionally appealed to middle class shoppers, including Morrisons, Asda, and Tesco, according to Ibbotson. “People are either going to the lower class discounters — even the middle class are going there — or the up-market grocers like Waitrose,” Ibbotson said.
Waitrose’s sales rose 6.2 percent in the most recent quarter to GBP 1.3 million (USD 2.2 million, EUR 1.6 million), according to Kantar Worldpanel. Waitrose has a good display of wet fish and it is sustainable,” Ibbotson said.
The discounters are also growing at a much faster pace than the large supermarket operators because they can open smaller stores, quicker. “The total discounters’ share of the market is between 10 and 12 percent. It is easier for the local discounters to open a lot of stores, starting from a very low base, compared to the big four supermarkets that aren’t opening that many stores,” Ibbotson said.
