Asda Outperforms Top Four in Latest Market Share Survey

By Ian Walker

LONDON--Asda was the best performer out of the top four supermarkets, while Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose continued to steal market share, according to a survey Tuesday.

In the 12 weeks ended Nov. 9, Asda, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), maintained its market share at 17.2%, compared with the comparable period ended Nov. 10, 2013, according to Kantar, which monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 25,000 demographically representative households in the U.K.

Aldi and Lidl's joint market share has risen to 8.4% from 6.9%, while Waitrose' market share has risen to 5.1% from 4.8%.

"Aldi continues to benefit from the disruption within the grocery market. Its sales are 25.5% higher than last year and the retailer now has a record-high market share of 4.9%," Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel said.

For the 12 weeks ended Nov. 9, Tesco PLC's (TSCO.LN) market share fell to 28.7% from 29.8%, while J. Sainsbury PLC's (SBRY.LN) fell to 16.4% from 16.8%. Wm Morrisons Supermarkets PLC's (MRW.LN) market share fell to 11.1%, from 11.5%.

"The major supermarkets have all had a difficult period, hit by both the flow of shoppers toward the discounters and reduced revenues as they competitively cut prices," Mr. McKevitt said.

However, while Tesco's sales are down, Mr. McKevitt said it is worth noting that the rate at which it is losing market share has slowed.

Write to Ian Walker at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires