Dunnes Stores has retained its position at the helm of Ireland's grocery industry, with the family-owned business seeing a 3.5% increase in value sales in the 12 weeks to 23 February, according to market share data from Kantar.
The retailer holds 23.5% of the market, Kantar said, putting it two percentage points ahead of closest rival Tesco, which holds 21.5% of the market (following a 0.7% increase in sales).
Musgrave Group-owned SuperValu holds a 21.4% share, with the retailer seeing a 1.9% increase in sales in the 12-week period.
Commenting on the performance of Ireland's top three grocers, Kantar Worldpanel said that Dunnes was boosted by a 3% increase in fresh produce sales, as well as a 12% increase in bread sales, while Tesco saw increases in prepared fruit and vegetables (+19%) and ready meals (+3%).
Discounter Growth
Discounter Lidl was the fastest-growing retailer in the period, with a sales boost of 5.6% helping it increase its market share to 11.5%. Rival Aldi saw sales rise 5.3%, meanwhile, with the discounter now on 11.6% market share.
While the coronavirus had a limited impact on sales in the 12-week period – handwash products, including sanitisers, saw a 15% increase in sales – the coming period should tell a different story, said Kantar.
“We’d expect to see more of an impact towards the end of February and into March, as increased awareness of the virus will likely lead to an uplift in sales of healthcare products," commented Charlotte Scott, consumer insight director at Kantar.
"This coupled with the impact of Storm Jorge in late February may well lead to growing sales of goods typically associated with stockpiling like pasta and tinned or frozen food.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
