Lidl bulldozes the Big Four to emerge as the fastest-growing grocer over Christmas
- Lidl said sales in December were 11% higher than a year earlier
- Supermarket said performance was boosted by strong sales of alcoholic drinks
Lidl piled pressure on the Big Four supermarkets as it emerged as the fastest-growing grocer over Christmas.
Lidl said sales in December were 11 per cent higher than a year earlier, with the discount chain claiming it snatched £110million worth of spending from rivals.
The supermarket said its performance was boosted by strong sales of alcoholic drinks, which were up 13 per cent overall.
Lidl said sales in December were 11 per cent higher than a year earlier, with the discount chain claiming it snatched £110m worth of spending from rivals
After the announcement, Tesco shares fell 1.5 per cent, or 3.9p, to 249.4p, Sainsbury’s fell 1.9 per cent, or 4.3p, to 220p and Morrisons shares by 2.4 per cent, or 4.65p, to 187.9p, wiping a combined £588million off their market value.
Christian Hartnagel, chief executive of Lidl GB, said: ‘This was our 25th Christmas since first opening our doors in Britain, and what a Christmas it’s been, with more customers shopping at Lidl than ever before.
‘The number of customers switching to us in the lead up to Christmas shows the continued appeal of the Lidl offer.’
It was the latest indication of the threat posed to the Big Four supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Walmart-owned Asda – by the lower-cost German stores.
Just days earlier, Aldi reported a 7.9 per cent rise in December sales.
Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics, said Lidl’s strong performance demonstrated ‘consumers’ rapid migration towards the discounters’.