Sainsbury’s enjoys Paralympics boost

SAINSBURY’S won the latest tussle between the “big four” supermarket chains, boosted by its sponsorship of last summer’s Paralympic Games, according to monthly grocery industry data from Kantar WorldPanel.

Great Britain take on China in women's wheelchair basketball. Sainsbury's figures were helped by their sponsorship of the Paralympic Games. Picture: Getty

Britain’s third-largest grocer grew its sales by 4.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 18 August, outstripping the wider sector’s 4.1 per cent growth and boosting its market share to 16.5 per cent from 16.4 per cent. Rivals Tesco, Asda and Morrisons all lost market share as they continued to suffer in the “squeezed middle”, with discounters Aldi and Lidl continuing to grab business at the bottom end, while Waitrose skims off customers at the top.

John Coll, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Sainsbury’s has continued to grow ahead of the market.

“It benefited from its support of the Paralympics last year and its growth has continued since then. It now holds 16.5 per cent of the grocery market and it is the only one of the ‘big four’ supermarkets to make gains in share this period.”

The hot weather had a positive effect on many categories, with ice cream sales up 21 per cent, suntan lotion rising by 37 per cent and hay fever remedies also up by 37 per cent year-on-year.

Coll added: “Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl remain strong with sales growth well above the market average at 9.1 per cent, 31.9 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively.

“Aldi and Lidl maintain a record market share for the discount sector at 6.8 per cent, with respective shares of 3.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent as some consumers continue to adapt their shopping strategies as pressure on wallets continues.”

The Co-operative Group, which posts its half-year results today, saw its market share fall to 6.6 per cent from 6.8 per cent.