he most popular supermarket chain in Ireland, Tesco's market share has taken a considerable hit over the past 12 weeks, falling from 27.5% to 26%. The has led to SuperValu, which fully subsumed the Superquinn brand two months, closing the gap on the market leader in Ireland even though it had a slight market share dip of its own. This poor result for Tesco in Ireland comes in the same week where the retail giant is expected to announced a second successive year of falling profits in its home market, as it releases its financial results on Wednesday.
Analysts believe that the retailer is on course to report a 6% fall in profit, with sales under pressure in the UK from Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl.
The latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, published yesterday for the 12 weeks ending 30 March, show strong sales growth for both Aldi and Lidl with respective growth rates of 21.9% and 11.1%.
David Berry, commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Aldi has maintained a growth rate of over 20% throughout 2014. This has boosted its market share from 6.4% last year to a record 7.9%. Aldi has capitalised by capturing more spend from its shoppers. Each shopping trip has grown by an average €2 per trip with two additional items being added to baskets.
“Lidl has also performed strongly with double digit sales growth for the fourth successive month. It posted a market share of 7.5% – just below its record 7.7% seen last August. This growth is likely to continue in the coming months thanks to a number of recent new store openings.”
Meanwhile, market conditions remain toughest for both Tesco and Dunnes which have experienced sales declines of 6.6% and 3.9% respectively. Tesco has continued to attract high numbers of customers through its doors, with the number of shopping trips falling by just 1%. Its main challenge is that these trips are shrinking in size, with customers picking up one item less per shop.
Dunnes’ share of the market dipped below 22% for the first time in six months, as 40,000 fewer shoppers have visited the retailer this year.
SuperValu performed slightly behind the market, with sales dipping by 1.6%, leading to a fall in market share of 0.1 percentage points, to 25.2%.
Berry told trade publication Checkout that the enlarged SuperValu network now captures over 25% of take-home grocery sales, almost a three point lead over Dunnes and one point behind Tesco.
“Bringing 24 Superquinn stores under the SuperValu banner has enhanced the retailer’s position as a major player in the grocery market," he said. "SuperValu’s sales have remained broadly in line with the market, which shows that it has been able to retain its market share while acquiring assets.”
