Sainsbury’s outperforms big four rivals
Sainsbury’s was the best performing of the big four supermarkets, according to industry data for the latest 12 week period, as the UK grocery market returned to growth.
The supermarket saw sales dip 0.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to 8 September.
Read more: Aldi targets London expansion as profit falls
Rival grocers Tesco. Asda and Morrisons reported sales declined 1.4 per cent, 1 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, according to market research firm Kantar.
However, budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl outperformed all four of the UK’s biggest grocers. The German retailers secured growth of 6.3 per cent and 9.2 per cent.
Yesterday Aldi announced an expansion plan in London, where its market share is only 3.4 per cent.
The company said it will increase the number of stores inside the M25 from 45 to 100 by the end of 2025, including new smaller high street branches.
Meanwhile Ocado, which today reported accelerating revenue growth, was the fastest growing retailer in the quarter.
The firm’s growth was boosted as it unlocked additional warehouse capacity following a fire that damaged its Andover site earlier this year.
Overall, UK grocery sales grew by 0.5 per cent however, volume sales remained flat.
Read more: Ocado sales growth accelerates after Andover fire recovery
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “As we move closer to 31 October, it seems talk about stockpiling might be just that because we’re not seeing any evidence of it at the moment.
“In fact, households bought 0.9 per cent fewer items during the past 12 weeks than they did last year.”
Main image credit: Getty