The hypermarket sector outperformed the rest of the French grocery market in November, the latest data from Kantar has shown, growing by 1.6 percentage points despite the overall market declining.
According to the data for the P12 period (1 November to 28 November), French grocery spend was down 6.2% compared to the corresponding period last year, which was marked by lockdowns.
However, the level of spend remains 2.4% higher than in 2019.
The boost for the hypermarket sector means that the channel now accounts for 41.6% of the market, but this is is down on the 42.9% it held in the corresponding period in 2019.
The supermarkets and discounter channel both saw declines of 0.7 percentage points during the P12 period, while convenience was 'stable', Kantar said. Online has shown a slight decline (-0.2 percentage points) to hold 8.7% of the market.
E. Leclerc Shows Strongest Growth
In terms of the performance of France's leading supermarket groups, E. Leclerc posted the strongest growth in the P12 period, with a 0.8 percentage point increase in market share.
The group gained an additional 940,000 households during the period, with Kantar noting that the re-opening of 'non-essential' departments, an increase in media investment and a 'better overall appreciation of the brand' have all served to boost the market leader's performance.
Aldi Gains Customers
Discounter Aldi was another retailer to see a market share gain, by 0.3 percentage points, having recruited an additional one million households.
Elsewhere, Lidl was up 0.2 percentage points, having gained an extra 550,000 households, while Carrefour, which recently announced a slowdown in sales in its third quarter, also saw a market share boost of 0.2 percentage points.
Click here to view the current market share of France's leading grocers.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
