Asda has strengthened its hold on the number two tag in the latest TNS data.
The latest TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures published today, for the 12 weeks ending October 8, 2006, show an intensified battle for the number two slot.
Earlier in the year there had been speculation that Sainsbury’s would soon overtake Asda to regain second place but Asda has managed to widen its lead to 0.9 share points (Asda 16.6 per cent v Sainsbury 15.7 per cent). A similar situation was last seen a year ago and this is consistent with the different seasonal nature of the two businesses.
Tesco continues to show strong growth over last year but the share has plateaued for the last five periods at around 31.4 per cent. “This is indicative of the renewed strength of Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons. Certainly, one of the conclusions of the ongoing Competition Commission investigation must be that the market remains competitive,” said Ed Garner, director of research at TNS Worldpanel.
Once again, Morrisons sees turnover growth but this lags the overall market. The Total Morrisons share (including Safeway) has remained close to 11 per cent for the last 16 periods. Garner commented: “Performance of converted stores needs to lift to levels seen in the Yorkshire heartland for the share to show future increases.”
Although a smaller player, Waitrose sees double-digit growth to hold on to its record 3.9 per cent share as it successfully integrates further store acquisitions.
Kwik Save continues to struggle, said Garner, adding: “Its significant sales downturn will have helped Aldi’s recent strong growth run both in terms of store transfers and shopper switching.”
