SuperValu, Superquinn buoyant

Musgrave-owned SuperValu and Superquinn are holding their own in the grocery shopping sector, as discounters Aldi and Lidl eat into the market share of the multiples.

The latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, for the 12 weeks ending Jun 9, show, while SuperValu and Superquinn are standing-up to the German challenge, Tesco and Dunne’s are both losing market share.

Commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel David Berry said: “Rising grocery bills have encouraged many shoppers to switch to discount chains, with Lidl and Aldi now boasting record market shares of 7.1% and 6.7% respectively. Those who have continued to shop at the larger grocers have become more price-conscious in the past year with savvy shoppers driving up sales of own label products by 3.8%. This contrasts sharply with the 3.6% decline seen by brand labels.”

Kantar said Tesco and Dunnes both continue to feel the effect of strong growth at the discount retailers. Tesco’s share of the market has fallen from 28.6% to 27.7% while Dunnes’ share now stands at 21.9%, down from 22.4% a year ago. SuperValu and Superquinn have both performed in line with the market, maintaining their market shares of 19.7% and 5.5% respectively.

Mr Berry said the rate of inflation for grocery goods has begun to slow, but at 4.8% it is well ahead of the Consumer Price Index which stood at 0.4% in the year to May.

“Throughout 2013 the price of our groceries has been increasing at over 5%, higher than the rate of inflation and a trend which has put a huge strain on consumers’ wallets. Now we are seeing grocery prices increasing at the slower rate of 4.8%, a welcome sign for shoppers that months of rapid increases may be coming to an end,” he added.

Kantar also noted that the overall performance of the grocery market dropped back slightly this period, with sales declining by 0.2% compared to last month.