|
 The UK’s four largest grocery retailers have now reported their results for the last full trading year. This was a challenging period for the grocery retail industry as the recession took its toll on consumer spending and business operations. Combined with low levels of inflation, customer footfall and market share was hard fought for.
In one of our latest Special Analysis reports from Retail Analysis, we examine how the UK top four retailers performed over the period; how they reacted to recessionary pressures and the new initiatives they are putting in place for the year ahead.
Full year like-for-like summary table
|
Retailer |
Total Sales Growth |
LFL Sales Growth |
Period |
|
Asda |
+6.3% |
+6.0% |
52 weeks to 31 December |
|
Morrisons |
+6.0% |
+6.0% |
52 weeks to 31 January |
|
Sainsbury's |
+5.6% |
+4.3% |
52 weeks to 20 March |
|
Tesco (UK) |
+4.9% |
+3.2% |
52 weeks to 27 February |
Source: Company, IGD Research
Note: Asda total sales growth is IGD estimate, Morrisons, Asda LFL ex-VAT (LFL ex-fuel, Total sales ex-VAT)
Each of the major multiples achieved a respectable trading performance in light of the economic environment with total sales growth of around 5-6% and like-for-like sales growth ranging from 3-6%.
Top four UK grocers develop strategy
Each of the four retailers outlined strategy developments for the coming period:
|
|
Driving points of uniqueness through value, range and Clubcard while rolling out retailing services |
|
|
Reinforcing its EDLP strategy, and building platforms for growth, including smaller supermarkets, general merchandise and online |
|
|
Delivering its strong space growth plans and further evolving its ‘value and values’ balance |
|
|
Promotional differentiation set to remain key as the new chief executive develops his growth strategy |
Five key industry trends
Comparing the retailers’ fortunes also allows us to highlight five key trends which are emerging across the industry, including:
- slowing market growth
- online and multi-channel development
- format opportunities
- management change and its impact
- a shifting promotional landscape
The next 12 months will be challenging. In an increasingly competitive market, it is essential that suppliers can adopt higher degrees of flexibility in order to cope with fluctuations in the market. The challenge is also to tailor their business strategies to adapt to changes in individual retailer developments and the wider retail market. Our Special Analysis presentation draws together a number of these key supplier implications - to learn more about how your business can adapt, and identify opportunities for growth, subscribers please logon to Retail Analysis and download this important new analysis.
|
