Aldi On Track To Enter Big Four By Overtaking Morrisons

 Namnews, 17th August 2022

Industry data released yesterday confirmed that Aldi is set to overtake Morrisons as the country’s fourth biggest supermarket within weeks.

Figures from Kantar showed the discounter’s market share in the UK had increased to 9.1% in the three months to 7 August after seeing a surge in sales as cash-strapped shoppers flocked to its stores amidst the cost of living crisis. Meanwhile, Morrisons continued its poor run with weaker sales resulting in its market falling from 10.0% to 9.3% over the last year.

With Aldi now just 0.2% behind Morrisons, Clive Black, a leading retail analyst at Shore Capital, said: “In very short order, we’ll be talking about a new Big Four: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi. I think in the next one or two months, and there’s no going back for a while.”

He stated that both Aldi and Lidl had been boosted by “unnatural footfall” as the cost of living crisis prompts shoppers “who ordinarily would not be striving for deep value” to switch to cheaper grocers to keep costs down.

Meanwhile, Black noted that “momentum has been going backwards” at Morrisons since its £7bn sale to US private equity firm CD&R last year. However, the deal was only given regulatory clearance by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in June this year, with all parties having to remain separate until the watchdog’s probe had been completed.

“The acquisition of Morrisons, the amount of time it took for the mergers watchdog to look into it, there was an inability for the new owners to get into the business,” Black said.

Morrisons has occupied the fourth spot since it took over Safeway in 2004. Black said: “We will be talking for the first time in many decades about the reconstitution of the top four.”

Combined, Aldi and Lidl now have a collective share of 16.1% of the total grocery market, up from less than 4% in 2008 and only beaten by Tesco. Over the latest period covered by Kantar, the two discounters gained an additional 1.8% of the market, equivalent to a £2.3bn annual gain in sales.

NAM Implications:

• ‘Discounters now have a collective share of 16.1%, second to Tesco…’
• Can you really afford not to pursue your fair share of Aldi & Lidl business?
• While Morrisons work on ways of recovering No. 4 slot.