Sainsbury’s loses out as customers turn to rivals

SAINSBURY’S customers have spent a total of £241m at rival supermarkets in the past year as the grocer has lost ground to its competitors.

In a further sign that Sainsbury’s is struggling to hold its own, data revealed that its customers are shunning the shop and heading instead to arch-rival Tesco and German discounters Lidl and Aldi.

Lidl and Aldi were responsible for grabbing more than half of Sainsbury’s lost sales in the 12 months to March 24, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.

Sainsbury’s customers spent £123.2m at Aldi and Lidl, who took a total of £504m of sales from the big four supermarkets Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons during the period, as customers are lured by the prospect of a bargain.

Tesco, meanwhile, raked in £53.1m worth of sales that were spent at Sainsbury’s a year earlier, with Morrisons taking £33.3m and Asda pocketing £31.4m as customers switched.

The latest figures put Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe under further pressure after the grocer lost its status as the UK’s second largest supermarket to Asda.

Sainsbury’s is awaiting a decision from the Competition and Markets Authority over its proposals to merge with Asda in a £14bn deal. However, the regulator has warned the pair the deal could be blocked unless they agree to sell hundreds of supermarkets.

Analysts at Barclays said the data exposed a ‘striking weakness’ at Sainsbury’s, with more than £83m worth of its sales switching to rival supermarkets in the 12 weeks to March 24.