Massive rise in fresh food sales helps discount retailers gain market share

SHOPPERS are flocking to discount retailers, Aldi and Lidl, which now have 10% of the grocery market.

Figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland for the 12 weeks ending April 17, 2011, show that the German-owned discounters are continuing to surge forward in the market, at the expense of other retailers.

Aldi leads the market in terms of growth, increasing value sales by 27.5% compared with last year. Lidl also outperformed the market, posting the second highest growth rate of 8.3%, a significant increase from February of this year when growth was only slightly ahead of the market at 3%. Both retailers increased their market shares, from 3.3% to 4.2% for Aldi and 5.7% to 6.1% for Lidl, compared to this time last year.