Waitrose’s share of the grocery market has climbed to its highest ever, according to latest figures from analyst Kantar Worldpanel. The upmarket retailer enjoyed a record-breaking 12-week period to the end of September, increasing its share to 4.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has delivered the strongest performance of the major retailers for the last quarter, according to the figures just released.
Sainsbury’s delivered growth of 5.6 per cent for the period, lifting its share to 16.5 per cent from 16.2 per cent a year ago.
Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Among the big-four supermarkets, the stand out performance is from Sainsbury’s. Its sponsorship of the Paralympic Games has clearly borne fruit, boosting its sales in this period. The retailer has also been bolstered by its Brand Match promotion and the ongoing re-launch of its own-label range – both of which are proving popular with consumers.
The grocery market as a whole is growing at 3.9 per cent, above the Kantar Worldpanel inflation measure of 2.6 per cent leading the analyst to conclude that despite a background of austerity, there is real growth in the market.
Asda also outperformed the market, adding 0.1 share points, although this is lower than the growth seen earlier this year as the effect of the Netto stores acquisition drops out of the year-on-year comparisons.
The results of Sainsbury’s and Asda contrast with Tesco and Morrisons, both of which have lost share over this period.
Garner said: “The growth of the discounters and Iceland continue to be a strong feature of the market. In particular, Aldi has been delivering growth in excess of 20 per cent a year since mid-2011 – clear evidence that value for money allied to a growing emphasis on product quality is encouraging shoppers to increase their loyalty to the outlet.”
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