SuperValu remains Ireland’s top supermarket for the 12-week period ending August 13, despite a strong challenge from Tesco, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.
Retaining top spot with a market share of 22.2%, SuperValu held a 0.2% lead over Tesco in second place. Dunnes Stores made up the top three with a market share of 21.1%.
A year-on-year sales growth of 0.4% was enough for SuperValu to hold onto the top spot, David Berry, Director at Kantar Worldpanel, said.
“SuperValu has improved the number of items sold per trip but has done so at a lower price point and now holds a 22.2% share of the grocery market, down 0.3 percentage points on last year.
This is the fourth consecutive period of growth for Tesco, which is a clear indication that it’s achieved a turnaround in performance.
“This is also only the second time since July 2014 that Tesco has posted a year-on-year increase in market share,” he added.
The overall grocery market has seen growth of 2.2%, despite deflation holding steady at 0.5% for the second month in a row, figures show.
Sales at Dunnes recorded an increase of 2% in comparison with last year. There are some interesting dynamics boosting Dunnes’ performance this period, Berry explained.
“The number of households shopping with the retailer has fallen from 64% to 59% – that’s a reduction of 68,000 in absolute terms.
However, this decline in footfall is cancelled out by a healthy improvement in how much shoppers are spending.
“The average Dunnes basket now includes an additional item and is worth an extra €2, suggesting that it’s performing well in the larger ‘main’ shop of the week and less so among smaller top-up trips.
“If Dunnes can encourage some of its lapsed shoppers to return to the store then it could be seeing a healthy increase in sales growth and market share,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lidl recorded a sales growth of 2.7%; this helped the retailer to attain a market share ahead of 12.0% for a second period, Kantar explained.
Becoming the joint fastest growing retailer in the country alongside Tesco, Aldi achieved a sales growth of 3.4%. This has improved its market share to 11.5%, matching the record level it first saw in March of this year.
Aldi shortens payment terms for small suppliers
Aldi has increased its support for small suppliers by reducing its payment terms to 14 days – previously terms could vary anywhere between seven and 48 days.
The new terms, which are effective from September 11, will apply to all suppliers that transact up to €300,000 worth of business annually with Aldi. More than 100 businesses are set to immediately benefit from this change.
The retailer recognises that cost pressures across the supply chain are increasing and placing a strain on smaller businesses in particular, Group Buying Director at Aldi, Finbar McCarthy, said.
Reducing payment terms to our smaller suppliers should help ease some of this pressure.
“Our relationships with suppliers are based on longevity, sustainability and trust. We have worked with many of our current suppliers since we entered the Irish market almost 20 years ago, and are always looking for ways in which we can work more effectively with them,” he concluded.