SuperValu is top dog in latest grocery share figures

SuperValu retained its position as the largest supermarket in the Republic during the third quarter of the year, growing sales by 0.9 per cent year on year.

The latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland for the 12 weeks ending September 10th show SuperValu remains the largest grocer with a market share of 22.1 per cent.

Strong sales growth from Tesco – its highest since April 2012 – helped narrow SuperValu's lead to just 0.1 percentage point.

Tesco saw sales grow by 4.3 per cent during the past 12 weeks, compared to the same time last year.

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Kantar Worldpanel director David Berry said Tesco’s fortunes “certainly seem to have shifted”.

“Although prices have fallen overall at the grocer, this has been countered by an increase in spending,” he said. “The average shopper spent €15 more with Tesco than during the same period last year.

“As Irish families head back to school, we’ve seen strong performance from a number of lunchbox staples. Sales of cooked meats and bread increased by 3.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively, while sales of crisps were up 12.1 per cent.”

In third place, Dunnes Stores held its share of the market steady at 21.6 per cent year on year.

“Performance has been mixed for Dunnes during the latest quarter,” said Mr Berry. “Although spending per trip has increased by 5 per cent, the percentage of the population visiting the store actually dropped by 5 per cent during the same period.

“The challenge now will be attracting those lost shoppers back to the supermarket – a vital step if Dunnes is to improve its market share ranking.”

Meanwhile, Aldi and Lidl both increased sales year on year, up by 3.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. Lidl held its market share steady at 11.8 per cent, while Aldi grew market share by 0.1 of a percentage point to stand at 11.6 per cent.