Aldi beats Morrisons to No4 grocer spot

GERMAN chain Aldi has overtaken Morrisons as Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer.

The Bradford-based retailer was loaded with debt when US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice bought it in a controversial £10billion deal last year. Shoppers

worried about the cost-of-living crisis have been switching in droves to Aldi and its no-frills rival Lidl. The Germanowned discounters have gained £2.3 billion of annual sales from Morrisons and other supermarkets, according to market researcher Kantar.

Aldi and Lidl are taking sales from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, which is co-owned by private equity firm TDR Capital and the Issa brothers. But it is Morrisons whose market share is falling fastest. According to Kantar, Aldi’s share leapt to 9.2 per cent in the four weeks to August 7, overtaking Morrisons’, which slumped to 9.0 per cent

Aldi and Lidl offer a limited range of ownlabel goods and are opening hundreds of stores.