UNIVEG Katope UK

TNS figures show resilient grocery sector

1st May 2009

The latest market figures have been released and show robust growth in UK Grocery sales. The value message still remains strong as retailers aim to retain their own customers, whilst trying to attract prospective customers with low price messages.

TNS has reported solid UK grocery market growth of 6.2% YoY over the 12 weeks ending 19 March 2009. Grocery price inflation fell slightly by the TNS measure to 9.0%, from 9.3% four weeks previously.

Ed Garner, Director at TNS Worldpanel, commented: "For this period, the strongest growth amongst the top four has been achieved by Sainsbury's. Their growth rate of 8.1% is well ahead of the market and has lifted their share from 16.1% a year ago to 16.3% now. Whilst they have maintained their ethical stance on issues like Fairtrade and Free Range, they have also fielded some aggressive promotions on the run-up to Easter together with featuring their Basics range.

"Both Asda and Morrisons have grown ahead of the market and lifted their shares by 0.3 and 0.1 points respectively, whilst Tesco have seen a share drop of 0.5 points. Having said that, their growth rate of 4.6% still translates into market-leading cash growth because of their sheer size."


12 Week Market Shares

  12 weeks to 20 
April 2008		 12 Weeks to 19 April 2009
Tesco 31.1% 30.6%
Asda 16.9% 17.2%
Sainsbury's 16.1% 16.3%
Morrisons 11.4% 11.5%
Somerfield 3.7% 3.3%
Waitrose 3.9% 3.8%
Iceland 1.7% 1.8%
Netto 0.7% 0.7%
Lidl 2.2% 2.4%
Aldi 2.7% 2.9%
Farmfoods 0.5% 0.6%
Other Freezer Centres 0.2% 0.2%
Other Multiples 1.6% 1.8%
Total Co-ops 4.4% 4.4%
Total Independents 2.8% 2.5%

Source: TNS Worldpanel



Value players continue to shine

Both Morrisons and Asda grew their market shares in comparison to the previous year, demonstrating that consumers are still seeking out value in their shopping trips. The continued Asda focus on EDLP appears to be paying dividends for the retailer, and it has continued to invest in price over 2009, having implemented 'rollbacks' on over 4,000 products since January 2009. Morrisons reported impressive full year results in March 2009, reflective of the investment in value at the retailer, and incremental benefits gained through the progress of its Optimisation Plan.

Discounters still robust, but growth slows

The hard discounters measured within the TNS scheme, Aldi and Lidl, are both still posting impressive growth rates (13.6% and 12.3% respectively), however this growth has slowed since the peaks of 2008. TNS now estimates the total market share of Aldi, Lidl and Netto to stand at 6.0%. Aldi in particular has been actively advertising its value credentials through the media, and has recently launched a 99p price promotion across a series of products within fresh, frozen and ambient grocery categories.

Waitrose: returning to growth

Whilst Waitrose's market share has fallen back slightly on the previous year according to TNS, value sales at the retailer have climbed by 3.2%. Waitrose has worked hard to address its price positioning and value proposition, and has recently launched 'essential Waitrose' in reaction to the industry focus on value. The range is a combination of a rebranding of existing parts of the Waitrose private label offer, including Select Farm; and also investment in permanent price reductions across a number of lines.


Source: IGD

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