Asda outshines suitor Sainsbury's in last 12 weeks - Kantar Worldpanel

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 11 (Reuters) - Asda, the British arm of Walmart that has agreed to be taken over by Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's , was alone among the country's big four grocers in holding its market share in the latest 12-week period, industry data showed on Tuesday.

Asda maintained its UK grocery market share at 15.0 percent in the 12 weeks to Dec. 2 as its sales rose 1.5 percent, market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said.

In contrast market leader Tesco (Frankfurt: 852647 - news) , Sainsbury's and Morrisons all lost share to German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Tesco and Sainsbury's sales fell 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent respectively, while Morrisons' sales were up 0.5 percent.

Aldi's sales rose 12.2 percent, while Lidl's were up 11.2 percent. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)