SBRY Sainsbury (j) Plc

By Ian Walker

LONDON--German retailers Aldi and Lidl continue to take market share from the top four U.K. grocers, pushing their share of the market to record highs, two surveys showed Tuesday, although growth was slower than the comparable period of 2016 because of the later Easter holiday.

Aldi's market share rose to 6.8% in the 12 weeks ended March 26 from 6.0% last year, while Lidl's share rose to 4.9% from 4.4%, Kantar Worldpanel said. Kantar monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 25,000 households in the U.K.

A separate survey by Nielsen Homescan showed Aldi's market share rose to 8% in the 12 weeks ended March 25, from 7.1% in the comparable period ended March 27, 2016, while Lidl's rose to 5.3% from 4.8%. Nielsen measures buying habits through a 15,000-person panel. Aldi's sales rose 13% in the three-month period, while Lidl's rose 11%.

Tesco continued to hold the biggest share of the U.K. grocery market. However, its recent sales growth reversed into a 0.4% fall and its market share fell to 27.6% in the 12 weeks to March 26 from 28.1% a year earlier. Sales in the 12-week period amounted to 7.15 billion pounds ($8.9 billion).

Sainsbury PLC's market share fell to 16.1% from 16.4%, while sales fell 0.7% to GBP4.17 billion, Kantar said.

Asda, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., saw its market share fall to 15.7% from 16.2% for the comparable 12 weeks, with sales 1.8% lower at GBP4.08 billion. WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC's market share fell to 10.4% from 10.5%, while sales were 0.3% higher at GBP2.7 billion

Upmarket retailer Waitrose's market share was unchanged at 5.1% in the 12 weeks ended March 26, while sales climbed 0.3% to GBP1.31 billion, Kantar said.

Aldi's sales in the 12 weeks grew 14% to GBP1.75 billion, while Lidl's sales rose 15% to GBP1.28 billion.

According to Nielsen, Tesco's market share dropped to 27.1% in the 12 weeks ended March 26 from 27.6% for the comparable period of 2016. Sainsbury's market share fell to 15.4% from 15.8%, Asda fell to 14.1% from 14.6% and Morrisons was unchanged at 10%.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 04, 2017 03:56 ET (07:56 GMT)

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