Aldi reaps benefit of tough times as its share of grocery market rises 30%

Aldi’s share of the Irish grocery market has grown by 30% over the last year to 6%, with rival Dunnes Stores’ share falling by 7.8% to 21% giving it the second largest market share behind Tesco’s 28.6% — up 2.5%.

Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland analysis on market share for the 12 weeks ending 30 Sept 2012, show that Aldi has posted market share growth of almost 30% year-on-year, which Kantar says is an all-time record for the German discounter.

Commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel, David Berry, said Aldi has been the star performer for a number of years and this is reflected in its 29.8% growth rate.

“Its strong performance is down to a solid combination of new store openings, a strong advertising campaign and a consistent evolution of the goods on offer in store. All of this means that Aldi has firmly established its position as the number five retailer in Ireland with a 6% share of the market and is now closing the gap on Lidl (6.6%).”

The Kantar figures show Tesco and SuperValu have out-performed the market, both achieving higher growth rates than last month. Lidl has seen a moderate growth of 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%, although its 1% growth rate is the lowest posted this year.

Mr Berry said shoppers are continuing to keep close control over their spending — a trend which has led to the value of the Irish grocery market falling by 0.5%.

“There are still some areas that are performing well. Sales of alcohol at the grocers have grown by 8% this quarter, showing that staying in and having a drink is an increasingly popular choice for those of us who are on a budget,” added Mr Berry.