Sales down 1 pct at Britain's Tesco, outperforms main supermarket rivals

(Adds table, quote)

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Sales at Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) fell 1

percent year on yeare in the 12 weeks to May 22, according to

industry data published on Wednesday, showing signs of

stabilisation for Britain's biggest supermarket chain in a tough

market for the "Big Four" players.

Tesco outperformed its main rivals, with sales at

Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's down 1.2 percent while Wal-Mart's

Asda suffered a 5.1 percent fall and Morrisons dropped

2.1 percent, Kantar Worldpanel said.

All four companies are being squeezed by the march of the

discounters in Britain, led by Aldi, which increased

sales by 11.4 percent, and Lidl, up 14.2 percent.

"The big four continue to be under pressure, with sales

declining at each retailer this period," Kantar said. "Tesco saw

signs of stabilising in comparison to historic declines over the

past two years."

Market share and sales growth (percent)

12 wks to May 12 wks to May pct change in

22, 2016 24, 2015 sales

Tesco 28.3 28.6 -1.0

Sainsbury's 16.2 16.5 -1.2

Asda 15.8 16.6 -5.1

Morrisons 10.7 10.9 -2.1

Co-operative 6.2 6.0 +3.3

Aldi 6.0 5.4 +11.4

Waitrose 5.3 5.2 +2.1

Lidl 4.4 3.9 +14.2

Iceland 2.1 2.1 +0.6

(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Costas Pitas; Editing by David

Goodman)