Morrisons' UK supermarket share drops to 11.1% in 12 weeks ended Sept. 16, a five-year low, reflecting lack of convenience stores, online offering; Sainsbury's was only one of UK's top four supermarket chains to gain share in period: Kantar

Cindy Allen

Cindy Allen

LONDON , September 24, 2013 () – William Morrison Supermarkets Plc’s share of the U.K. grocery market dropped to a five-year low this month, indicating that a lack of convenience stores and an online offering continue to weigh on business.

The retailer’s market share fell to 11.1 percent in the 12 weeks ended Sept. 16 from 11.4 percent a year earlier, according to researcher Kantar Worldpanel. That’s the lowest since the 12 weeks ended Sept. 7, 2008, when the share was 11 percent.

Morrison misses 2 percentage points of sales growth by not having an online presence or convenience stores, the two fastest growing areas of the market, Chief Executive Officer Dalton Philips said Sept. 12. The grocer plans to start an Internet grocery service in January and to have 100 convenience stores by the end of this year, which it will seek to double in 2014.

“Strong performances by retailers at both ends of the market pose a significant challenge for the big four supermarkets,” Kantar Worldpanel said in the statement. A polarization by shoppers toward discounters such as Aldi and Lidl and the upscale Waitrose chain “is forcing the major supermarkets to compete for an ever-smaller middle ground.”

Morrison’s sales rose 1.6 percent in the 12-week period, down from 1.8 percent growth reported last month, Kantar said.

J Sainsbury Plc was the only one of the U.K.’s big four grocers to gain market share from a year ago, with an increase to 16.6 percent from 16.4 percent. Tesco Plc, Britain’s largest retailer, saw its share weaken to 30.2 percent from 30.9 percent, while the share of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda dropped to 17.3 percent from 17.6 percent, Kantar World Panel said.




--Editors: Paul Jarvis, Thomas Mulier


To contact the reporter on this story: Gabi Thesing in London at gthesing@bloomberg.net


To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.

Share:

About Us

We deliver market news & information relevant to your business.

We monitor all your market drivers.

We aggregate, curate, filter and map your specific needs.

We deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.

Our Contacts

1990 S Bundy Dr. Suite #380,
Los Angeles, CA 90025

+1 (310) 553 0008

About Cookies On This Site

We collect data, including through use of cookies and similar technology ("cookies") that enchance the online experience. By clicking "I agree", you agree to our cookies, agree to bound by our Terms of Use, and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. For more information on our data practices and how to exercise your privacy rights, please see our Privacy Policy.