Tesco has taken Sainsbury's mantle, held for the last two years, as Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year. The UK's leading food retailer was given the award at a ceremony in London on Thursday night.
The accolade is good news for Tesco in the same week that it lost out in the right to bid battle for Safeway. More good news came in the release of the lates Taylor Nelson Sofres market statistics, which shows further year-on-year growth for the chain.
In the 12 weeks to September 14, Tesco had a share of 27.1 per cent of the grocery basket in the UK, as opposed to a 26.1 per cent share in the same 12 weeks a year ago.
Asda has cemented its number two position, holding 16.9 per cent (16.2 per cent in 2002), with Sainsbury's the biggest loser at 16.1 per cent (17.2 per cent). Safeway held a 9.2 per cent share, down from 9.7 per cent, and Morrisons has increased its holding to 6.1 per cent of the market (5.8 per cent).
The top three are licking their wounds over the Safeway affair and their is bound to be a period of speculation surrounding their next moves. A scramble for control of the 53 stores that Morrsions will be forced to sell to ensure that the new super-group does not have too much dominance in certain areas of the country.
Morrisons will make a fresh offer for Safeway soon. Its previous offer was near £3 billion.
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