Aldi has overtaken Asda to become Britain’s third biggest supermarket, analysis shows.
It is the latest blow for the grocer, which has been losing market share to Aldi and fellow discounter Lidl since a £6.8billion takeover led by the Issa brothers saddled it with huge debts.
Co-owner Mohsin Issa has vowed to restore Asda as the UK’s second biggest food retailer ahead of Sainsbury’s.
But data from NIQ shows Asda’s growth is stalling, with sales up just 0.8 per cent in the past 12 weeks – the weakest performance of any major food retailer.
A closer look at the figures reveals that its market share now lags Aldi’s. Asda accounted for 11.7 per cent of the grocery market compared with Aldi’s 12.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to March 23.
Sign of the times: In two decades, Aldi have come from nowhere and now take £1 of every £4.50 spent at British grocery store checkouts
The news comes as Asda delays publication of its annual results. They were due last month but are not expected for another few weeks, sources say. No reason has been given.
In two decades, the German-owned discounters have come from nowhere and now take £1 of every £4.50 spent at British grocery store checkouts.
Former Lidl UK boss Ronny Gottschlich has said he expects the discounters’ combined share will surpass that of market leader Tesco ‘by 2027 at the latest’. But Tesco has proved resilient – and increased its grocery market share to 26 per cent, according to the NIQ figures.
It is expected to post strong results this week, with analysts pencilling in group profits – which include its international business and cash-and-carry operator Booker – of £2.9billion, up from £2.6billion the previous year.
Sales are expected to have jumped to around £69billion, against £57.7billion last time.
Aldi, which has more than 1,000 stores in the UK, is set to open another 35 this year but its pace of expansion has slowed recently.
Clive Black, of Shore Capital, said Aldi’s growth was ‘unsustainable’, while Asda’s trading momentum was ‘worrying’.
Asda said other industry data, such as from Kantar, show it is still ahead of Aldi. And a source close to the company said: ‘Market share data ebbs and flows, with gains and declines for grocery retailers each year.’
