Tesco’s revival turns the screw on ‘big four’ supermarket rivals

Tesco, which also held on to its share of the market for the first time since June 2011, added to the pressure on Morrisons, the fourth-largest grocer, whose slice of the market fell again.

The latest supermarket share figures also showed the continuation of the “squeezed middle” trend, with the discount grocers and the top-end retailers still growing their sales while mid-market companies struggled.

Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, which compiled the figures, said: “These positive results are a sign of stabilisation for Tesco as the retailer gets back on track.

“However, this improvement has put some pressure on the rest of the big four with Morrisons in particular suffering a drop in sales.”

Data for the 12 weeks to 20 January showed that Tesco grew its sales by 3.3 per cent year-on-year to hold its market share steady at 30.4 per cent.

Tesco’s three nearest rivals – Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – all lost market share, with Aldi topping the league table with 29.2 per cent growth, followed by fellow discounter Lidl, which increased sales by 10 per cent.

Frozen food specialist Iceland grew its sales by 9.6 per cent to hold on to its 2 per cent slice of the market, squeezing out Cumbernauld-based rival Farm Foods, which posted a 10.3 per cent drop in revenues.

Garner added: “It is worth noting the improved performance from the Co-operative this month, with the retailer recording a sales increase of 0.9 per cent. This growth contrasts with the declines posted throughout 2012 and could be a positive step for the grocer.”

At the other end of the market, middle-class favourite Waitrose grew its sales by 8 per cent to increase its market share to 4.6 per cent from 4.4 per cent.

Food price inflation rose by 4.9 per cent, outstripping the 3.3 per cent sales growth for the market.