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Irish grocery market maintains growth; CSNA announces second keynote speaker for conference
Irish grocery market maintains growth
THE Irish grocery market maintained steady growth of 1.3% during the 12 weeks to February 23, 2020, according to the latest figures from Kantar. All the major grocers were on an upward trajectory in the latest period, ahead of widespread disruption caused by Storm Jorge and headlines around Covid-19. News reports around coronavirus in February saw consumers take steps to ward off colds and flu, though the impact in Ireland was less pronounced than it was in Britain. Hand-wash products, including sanitisers, grew by 15% in the 12 weeks to February 23, representing strong, but not dramatic, growth. “We’d expect to see more of an impact towards the end of February and into March, as increased awareness of the virus will likely lead to an uplift in sales of healthcare products,” reveals Charlotte Scott, Consumer Insight Director at Kantar. “This, coupled with the impact of Storm Jorge in late February, may well lead to growing sales of goods typically associated with stockpiling like pasta and tinned or frozen food.”
Meanwhile, retailers capitalised on the most romantic day of the year, which provided a welcome boost for grocers. “Sales of chocolates and gifts were up by 13% over the four weeks to February 23, while other traditional Valentine’s day categories, like wine and chilled ready meals, grew by 6%. Sweethearts were savvy with their money and sales of products on deal doubled compared to the same period last year,” said Charlotte Scott.
Dunnes, Tesco and SuperValu all contributed to the boost in promotional activity, increasing sales of boxed chocolates on offer by 23%, 22% and 18% respectively.
Lidl remained the fastest growing retailer this period, increasing its market share by 0.5 percentage points to 11.5%. The grocer benefited from shoppers maintaining healthy habits, with fruit sales rising by an additional €2.3m. Aldi was hot on Lidl’s heels, enjoying marginally slower growth than last period at 5.3%. The retailer continued to gain share as shoppers chose to put more in baskets, with one in every two customers adding an additional item compared to the same 12 weeks last year.
Supervalu weathered a slowdown in growth, managing to increase its market share to 21.4%. It benefited from a wider market uplift in organic food sales of 12%, as the number of baskets across all retailers containing organic goods rose by 9% year on year.
Charlotte Scott comments: “SuperValu has performed particularly well in the organic foods category, and now holds 25% of the total organic market. Fruit sales have grown by an additional €3.1m in SuperValu over the 12 weeks, a key everyday category which has likely helped to drive the retailer’s success in securing bigger baskets. The grocer also saw a bounce in dairy sales, with butter, cream and eggs all achieving double digit growth of 12%, 16% and 15% respectively.”
Tesco accelerated its growth rate to 0.7% this period and held its position as the second largest retailer in Ireland. Shoppers visited the store more frequently, with trips rising by 2.5%, and filled baskets in particular with convenience goods. Prepared fruit and vegetables, as well as ready meals, were standout categories for the business, up by 19% and 3% respectively.
Meanwhile, Dunnes was the only other retailer to accelerate its growth rate, along with Tesco. The grocer gained 0.5 percentage share points, taking it to a 23.5% market share. Performance was led by success in key staple categories, with sales of fresh produce up 3% and an uptick of 12% in bread sales.
Grocery market inflation stands at 1% for the 12-week period ending February 23, 2020. Total Take Home Grocery - Ireland Consumer Spend 12 Weeks to 24/02/19 % * 12 Weeks to 23/02/20 % * change** % Total Grocers 100.0% 100.0% 1.3% Total Multiples 88.2% 89.5% 2.9% SuperValu 21.3% 21.4% 1.9% Tesco 21.6% 21.5% 0.7% Dunnes 23.0% 23.5% 3.5% Lidl 11.0% 11.5% 5.6% Aldi 11.2% 11.6% 5.3% Other Outlets** 11.8% 10.5% -10.4% *= Percentage Share of Total Grocers **= Includes stores such as M&S, Boots, Spar, Centra, Greengrocers, Butchers And Cross Border shops Source: Worldpanel FMCG MARKET SHARE - TOTAL GROCERY Includes expenditure across Food, Beverages, Alcohol, Household and Health & Beauty categories
THE CSNA has announced that Sinead Ryan, journalist, broadcaster and media trainer, has been confirmed as the second keynote speaker for the much anticipated 2020 CSNA Conference, which will take place in Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney, Dublin, on May 28, joining Brian Donaldson, Chairperson of Retail Ireland and CEO of Maxol Group.
Sinead has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 16 years, writing on consumer, property and personal finance matters, contributing columns to the Irish Independent and Herald newspapers, as well as presenting The Home Show on Newstalk.
Along with the speakers, the CSNA Conference will also include a superb panel discussion, valuable networking opportunities and a series of interactive workshops, each delivered by renowned retailers who will share their expert knowledge of food, news and magazines, human resources and digital innovations with all workshop participants. For more information, see www.csna.ie. Sinead Ryan, keynote speaker at the CSNA Conference.
