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(Alliance News) - J Sainsbury PLC was the best performing of the big four UK grocers and the only one to achieve sales growth in the 12 weeks to October 6, Kantar said on Tuesday.
Total grocery sales in the UK in the 12-week period grew 1.3% year-on-year to GBP26.61 billion from GBP26.28 billion, according to the latest Kantar grocery market survey.
"The grocery market seems to have finally edged out from under the shadow of 2018 and tough comparisons with the strong summer sales of last year," Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said.
"Sainsbury's performance reflects this – increasing sales at its fastest rate since October 2018 to make it the only big four retailer to achieve growth. The grocer recently announced plans to phase out its value ‘Basics’ line which made it into 12% of shopping baskets during the past 12 weeks, so it will be interesting to see how replacement brands like ‘Stamford Street’ and ‘J James and family’ fare as they become more widely available," McKevitt added.
Sainsbury's sales grew 0.6% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to GBP4.07 billion, but its market share slipped slightly to 15.3% to 15.4%. Tesco's sales fell by 0.2% to GBP7.17 billion from GBP7.19 billion, with its market share slipping to 27.0% from 27.3%.
Asda, a unit of Walmart Inc, had a 0.9% year-on-year sales fall to GBP3.99 billion and its market share shrank to 15.0% from 15.3%. Meanwhile, Morrison sales were down 1.8% during the period to GBP2.67 billion and market share fell to 9.9% from 10.3%.
German discount grocery chains Lidl and Aldi continued to gain share in the 12-week period, Kantar said.
Lidl recorded 8.2% year-on-year sales growth to GBP1.59 billion, with market share rising to 6.0% from 5.6%. Aldi posted 7.3% rise in sales to GBP2.15 billion and its market share rose to 8.1% from 7.6%.
The Co-operative Group's market share increased to 6.6% from 6.4%. Sales rose 3.9% to GBP1.75 billion. Online supermarket Ocado saw 13% sales rise in the 12 weeks to GBP367 million, with market share improving to 1.4% from 1.2%.
Waitrose suffered a 1.1% year-on-year sales fall to GBP1.34 billion in the 12 week period. Market share fell slightly to 5.1% from 5.2%. Frozen food specialist Iceland Foods Ltd had a 0.5% sales rise to GBP558 million, with market share remaining flat at 2.1%.
Kantar said it is not yet seeing evidence of Brexit stockpiling. McKevitt said concerns about the availability of popular products in the event of a no-deal Brexit have not yet translated into a consistent increase in purchasing.
"While a quarter of British consumers say they are considering stockpiling, it seems they are waiting to see how the next few weeks play out and we expect if they take any action it will be closer to the deadline if a chaotic trading situation looks increasingly likely," McKevitt said.
UK grocery inflation stood at 0.8% in the 12-week period, Kantar said. Prices rose fastest in markets such as canned fish, crisps and frozen fish, while falling in canned cola, instant coffee and chilled fruit juices.
Shares in Sainsbury's were flat early Tuesday, while Ocado was up by 2.5%. Tesco shares were up 0.6% and Morrisons up 0.2%.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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