TSCO Tesco Plc

By Ian Walker 
 

A merged J Sainsbury PLC's (SBRY.LN) and Asda Group Ltd. will have a combined market share of 31.4% if their proposed merger goes ahead, leapfrogging the current number one U.K. Grocer Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN), a survey shows Tuesday.

Sainsbury's market share fell to 15.9% for the 12 weeks ended April 22, according to the latest survey by Kantar Worldpanel, from 16.2% for the comparable period ended April 23, 2017, although sales rose 0.2% to 4.26 billion pounds ($3.53 billion).

The market share of Asda, a subsidiary of Walmart Inc. (WMT), fell to 15.5% from 15.6%, with sales 1.4% higher at GBP4.16 billion.

On Monday, Walmart said it would sell its British arm Asda to rival Sainsbury, a deal that values the chain at about GBP7.3 billion and would, if successful, create the largest player in the U.K.'s fiercely competitive grocery market.

Tesco's market share was unchanged in the 12 weeks at 27.6%, but its sales rose 2.1% to GBP7.41 billion, Kantar said. Kantar monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households in the U.K.

Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC's (MRW.LN) market share was also unchanged at 10.5%, with sales increasing 2.2% to GBP2.81 billion.

The market share of up-market retailer Waitrose, a division of John Lewis Partnership PLC, fell to 5.1% in the 12 weeks ended April 22 from 5%. Sales climbed 0.2% to GBP1.37 billion, Kantar said.

At the other end of the scale, German retailers Aldi and Lidl continued to grow both market share and sales. For the 12 weeks ended April 22, Aldi's market share rose to 7.3% from 6.9%, while sales rose 7.7% to GBP1.95 billion. Lidl's market share rose to 5.4% from 5.0% and sales grew 9.1% to GBP1.44 billion, Kantar said.

Separately, a survey by Nielsen Homescan also shows Aldi and Lidl growing market share. For the 12 weeks ended April 21 Aldi's market share rose to 8.6% from 8.0% for the comparable period ended April 22, 2017 while Lidl's rose to 5.6% from 5.2%.

According to Nielsen, Tesco's market share has dropped to 27.1% in the 12 weeks ended April 21, from 27.2% for the comparable period ended April 22, 2017, Sainsbury's fell to 14.9% from 15.3%, Asda fell to 13.9% from 14% and Morrisons fell to 9.9% from 10%.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2018 03:49 ET (07:49 GMT)

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