“It is amazing how quickly the retail scene can change in a relatively mature market,” said Red Communications’ John Valentine, during a session on the European marketplace at the Southern Hemisphere Congress, in Santiago, Chile.
The ex-Tesco buyer told delegates that in the last 12 years, Tesco’s market share has increased from 16 per cent to 30 per cent. Sainsbury’s, which relinquished its market lead 10 years ago to its competitor, has moved from an 18.5 per cent slice of the sector to around 16 per cent, being caught also by Asda, which has doubled its share in the period from eight per cent to 16 per cent.
He added that within the grocery market, serious foods are losing out because of underlying consumer trends. The convenience sector is being driven by Britons, 23 per cent of whom work more than 48 hours a week - 10 per cent more than the rest of Europe, Valentine said.
And the demographic shift in consumer dynamics means that 50 per cent of meal occasions in the UK take place alone, compared to just 15 per cent, 20 years ago.
The need for fresh produce suppliers to respond to market changes is compounded by an average preparation time for meals that has dropped dramatically from an hour in the 1980s to just 19 minutes.
