Industrial action at Dunnes Stores outlets in early April appears to have failed to deter shoppers from visiting its stores, according to the latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 26 April.
Of the Irish grocery market's 'Big Three' grocers, Dunnes posted the best year-on-year sales performance, with its sales rising 3.6%. Dunnes now sits on 22.0% market share.
“There was an initial dent in Dunnes’ performance [due to the industrial action]; on Holy Thursday sales fell away,” says David Berry, director, Kantar Worldpanel. “But it recovered the majority of that on the days preceding or directly following that.
“On the Friday, sales were back up and probably ahead of where they would have been on a normal Friday.”
A statement by Kantar added that ‘one of the key positives for Dunnes has been its strength in Dublin, an area where grocery sales are growing and where Dunnes accounts for over a quarter of shopper spend’.
At the top, SuperValu and Tesco are now neck-and-neck in terms of grocery market share, on 25.0%.
Tesco saw its value sales fall year-on-year by 3.5%, while SuperValu's sales are up 0.8%.
‘The amount of groceries sold at Tesco has remained flat, but value sales have declined because of shoppers choosing to pick up cheaper goods in store,’ said Kantar.
‘SuperValu’s sales have remained in growth for the eighth month in a row, largely thanks to the retailer’s ability to consistently win new shoppers. SuperValu’s plan to open four new stores this year gives it the opportunity to grow sales further and out-perform the overall market.’
Aldi, with 8.6% share, and Lidl, with 8.2% share, continue to make gains, however this period is the first since 2010 that both discounters have failed to increase their sales year-on-year by double digits. Aldi saw a 8.8% rise in sales since a year ago, while Lidl rose 7.8%.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
