The latest market share data for the French supermarket sector, published by Kantar Worldpanel, has seen Intermarché grow its share by 30 basis points year on year, to 14.6%.
This makes the Mousquetaires-owned group the best-performing banner in the four-week period (P4 2018).
Leaders Leclerc (21.1% share) and Carrefour (20.3% share) both saw their shares decline, by 30 basis points and 20 basis points, respectively.
Other supermarkets to post year-on-year growth, albeit on a marginal level, include Système U, which saw its market share rise by ten basis points, to 10.9% share, and Lidl, which also saw a ten-basis-point gain, to 5.5%.
All other supermarket groups were flat for the period.
Loyal Shoppers
Commenting on the figures, Gaëlle Le Floch, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, said that Intermarché's gains were due to its "loyal customers" and increased basket size.
"[Intermarché] continues to benefit from an increasingly positive image, particularly on promotion, price and choice items," Le Floch commented.
"[Système U has been] in good health since the beginning of the year, thanks to ever more loyal customers [and] a sharp rise in their average basket," she added.
Leader Losses
Commenting on the findings, Bruno Monteyne of Bernstein Research noted, "Market leader Leclerc has now sustained four consecutive months of market share losses, losing 30 basis points this period. On a two-year basis, Leclerc is the standout performer, but its performance has softened in recent periods.
"Carrefour doesn’t benefit from Leclerc's losses and continues to lose market share – down 20 basis points year on year, to 20.3% – the same decline as last period. On a two-year basis, Carrefour looks particularly weak, at -90 basis points. Supers lost 40 basis points and underperformed the market that lost 20 basis points. Hypers reversed a five-month trend of market share losses by gaining ten basis points this period."
Monteyne noted, however, that we shouldn't read too much into Carrefour's performance for the period, given the labour strikes that affected the retailer during Easter.
Overall, the supermarket channel lost market share for the four-week period, with a 20-basis-point decline year on year, to 24.8% share. Hypermarkets also lost share, dropping by 30 basis points year on year, to 52.2%.
The convenience (+10 basis points) and e-commerce (+30 basis points) channels both saw growth.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
