Britain’s Supermarket Wars Continue

04 Aug 2014 --- Aldi has become Britain’s sixth biggest supermarket overtaking upmarket British food retailer Waitrose, which has just admitted its sales look set to be below expectations this year.

Waitrose is now the third of the big supermarkets in the UK to warn of lower profits this year, following the announcements earlier this year from Morrisons and Tesco.

The discounters (Aldi and Lidl) meanwhile continue to snap up market share from Britain’s well established grocers, such as Tesco and Morrisons. Aldi now has 5.2% of the market, compared with Waitrose’s 5%. The discounters are believed to have been visited by 14% more people than a year ago. 

Asda and Sainsbury’s have so far managed to retain their market share, while Waitrose has been gaining share but more slowly than its discount rivals. Tesco and Morrisons have been losing their share of the market. 

Waitrose said sales were up 6.7% for the week to 26 July compared with last year but the grocer said it had still struggled to compete in an increasingly tough market. Full details of the group’s half year results will be revealed on 11 September. Last year the company reported a 13% rise in operating profits to £160m. 

The company is investing more in online sales, new store openings, store improvements and promotions. Card holders will continue to receive free coffee and newspapers.

"We are in a period of unprecedented investment and this will have an impact on the profit we report next month," said Waitrose managing director Mark Price. “We are investing to enable us to compete effectively in this very tough market and to build a strong business for the future.”