Aldi overtakes Waitrose as Britain’s sixth largest supermarket
I find the growth of these smaller EU supermarkets reflects modern day living norms. They also tend to have pretty good food supply relationships. They also tend to make a less controversial contribution to the viability of many smaller town centres. All in all an intriguing phenomenon and sign of the times!
Aldi has overtaken Waitrose to become Britain’s sixth largest supermarket after a surge in sales for the German discounter.
Aldi’s leapfrogging of upmarket Waitrose highlights the dramatic changes in the grocery industry, with the market share controlled by the “big four” – Tesco, Asda, J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison – now at the lowest level for a decade.
The German discounter has ambitious expansion plans, meaning its growth is likely to continue. Industry figures shows that Aldi will open more than five times the amount of new shop space compared to Tesco this year, and more than Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons combined.
The discounter said on Wednesday that it will target expansion in London during 2015 and quadruple in size in the city by opening nine new stores. Growth in London is a key part of Aldi’s ambition to double in size to 1,000 stores by 2022.
Although Waitrose has been overtaken by Aldi, the upmarket grocer is one of only three supermarkets to grow its market share alongside Aldi and Lidl. In contrast, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are all in decline and the 72.8pc market share controlled by the “big four” is the lowest level for a decade.