Dunnes Stores has remained in pole position as Ireland's top supermarket for the ninth consecutive month.
Recent research, showed that Tesco grew sales by 3.6% in the past 12 weeks to 19 May 2019, narrowing the gap with Dunnes to just 0.2%.
Meanwhile, SuperValu’s growth of 0.9% puts the Musgrave-owned retailer on a positive footing for the second consecutive period ahead of the summer, when it traditionally performs strongly, the latest figures from Kantar showed.
Market Growth
Overall, research indicated that the Irish grocery market grew by 4.2% over the period.
Respective growth of 12.6% and 5.9% for Aldi and Lidl means that the retailers’ combined grocery market share stands at 23.6% – higher than that of any individual retailer for the third consecutive period, the research showed.
“The strength of Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl – retailers at opposite ends of the price spectrum – is a surprising quirk of the Irish grocery market," highlighted Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar.
"Dunnes has showed little interest in going head-to-head with Aldi and Lidl on price, instead preferring to carve out its position as Ireland’s premium food retailer through smart acquisitions and partnerships with upmarket brands such as Sheridans Cheesemongers and James Whelan Butchers."
Competitive Price Initiatives
According to the report, both Aldi and Lidl continue to capture market share through competitive price initiatives like Aldi’s Super 6 initiative and Lidl’s Super Savers.
While value is still central to both retailers, the premium tier has become more of a focus.
“As Aldi and Lidl have grown, they have placed an increased emphasis on their premium own label and branded ranges," Faughnan continued.
"This is a clear attempt to capture more spend from those shoppers who, while seeking value, are also prepared to splash out on certain occasions."
While on the surface Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl have different appeals, they are all targeting the same shoppers and tailoring ranges to reflect that.”
SuperValu Shows Lift
Following a dip in sales in March, SuperValu continued to 'move in the right direction'.
Faughnan elaborated: “A key feature of SuperValu’s performance has been the 7.1% uplift in the value of each trip – on average shoppers spend an additional €1.60 every time they visit compared with the same period last year.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
