Asda loses further ground to rivals

ASDA, Britain's second-largest supermarket operator, lost market share for a fifth month running as rivals opened more stores and shoppers treated themselves to premium food amid subdued price inflation, data showed yesterday.

The Wal-Mart-owned group saw its share of the sector slip to 16.8 per cent from 16.9 per cent in the latest Kantar Worldpanel grocery market study.

Plunging food price inflation has dragged sales lower for many of the major players, but Asda has been the worst affected in recent months. It revealed its first sales fall in four years earlier this month, with a 0.3 per cent drop in like-for-like revenues for the three months to March.

Tesco held onto its market share of 30.6 per cent in the 12 weeks to 16 May, while Sainsbury's claimed a greater slice of the sector, up from 16.1 per cent to 16.3 per cent, as did Morrisons with a rise to 11.8 per cent from 11.5 per cent a year earlier.

Kantar said that Asda's focus on value might be working against it, with the figures showing that consumers are continuing to shop at the "premium end" of the market.

Edward Garner, communications director at Kantar, said Asda's incoming chief executive, Andy Clarke, would take on the immediate task of reviving sales growth to its former glory.

Garner said: "We expect him to focus on restoring the clarity of 'every day low prices' as well as reviewing the implementation of range rationalisation."