Asda outshines suitor Sainsbury's in last 12 weeks - Kantar Worldpanel
* Asda alone among big four in holding market share
* Asda sales up 1.5 pct, Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's down 0.2 pct
* Overall UK market grows at slowest rate since March 2017
* Tesco (Frankfurt: 852647 - news) , Sainsbury's, Morrisons shares fall
(Adds detail, table, shares)
LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 11 (Reuters) - Asda, the British arm of Walmart
that has agreed a takeover by rival Sainsbury'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's sales rose 1.5 percent in the 12 weeks to Dec. 2 and
it maintained its UK grocery market share at 15.0 percent,
market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said.
In contrast Sainsbury's sales slipped 0.2 percent and its
share dipped to 16.0 percent from 16.4 percent a year ago.
Sainsbury's, Britain's second largest supermarket group,
agreed a 7.3 billion pound ($9.3 billion) takeover of Asda, the
number three, in April, a combination that could overtake Tesco (Swiss: TSCO.SW - news)
as Britain's biggest supermarket group.
The deal is currently being investigated by Britain's
regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, which is
expected to publish its initial findings next month.
Sainsbury's shares were down 0.8 percent at 0915 GMT.
Tesco's sales declined 0.1 percent, while Morrisons' were up
0.5 percent.
Tesco's shares were down 1 percent, while Morrisons' were
down 2 percent.
German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl continued
to be the big winners with sales increases of 12.2 percent and
11.2 percent respectively, partly reflecting aggressive store
opening programmes.
Kantar Worldpanel said overall UK grocery sales rose 2.0
percent over the 12-week period, its slowest rate since March
2017.
"Consumers are benefiting from falling inflation. It now
stands at 1.6 percent – less than half the rate of inflation in
December 2017, when it reached 3.6 percent – leading to a
slowdown in the overall market," said Fraser McKevitt, head of
retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel.
Prices are rising fastest in products such as cola,
sparkling wine and dog food, while falling in fresh pork,
ambient cooking sauces and fruit.
Market share and sales (percent)
12 wks to 12 wks to pct change
Dec. 2, 2018 Dec. 3, 2017 in sales
Tesco 27.6 28.2 -0.1
Sainsbury's 16.0 16.4 -0.2
Asda 15.0 15.0 1.5
Morrisons 10.5 10.6 0.5
Aldi 7.6 6.9 12.2
Co-operative 6.2 6.0 4.5
Lidl 5.6 5.1 11.2
Waitrose 4.9 5.0 -0.7
Iceland 2.2 2.2 1.8
Ocado 1.1 1.1 3.4
Source: Kantar Worldpanel
($1 = 0.7857 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey
Editing by Paul Sandle/Keith Weir)