Aldi Overtakes Asda In Food Sales, But Asda Remains Focused On Long-Term Strategy

Aldi UK has overtaken Asda in food and drink sales for the first time, according to new figures from Kantar, but Asda remains confident in its longer-term trajectory and consistent customer focus.

In the 12 weeks to 18 May, Aldi reached a 9.8% market share for food and drink, compared to Asda’s 9.4%. The discounter’s CEO, Giles Hurley, described the milestone as “an interesting soundbite,” noting that Aldi had already been the third largest supermarket by volume “for some time.”

Despite the figures, Hurley downplayed the notion of a fierce price battle between supermarkets. He told The Times that Aldi had seen little evidence of aggressive new pricing from competitors, describing the notion of a supermarket price war as a “phoney” one. “We’re not seeing particularly aggressive moves from competition,” he said.

This comes after Asda’s chairman, Allan Leighton, pledged earlier this year to make the retailer the UK’s cheapest supermarket – a move that prompted Tesco and Sainsbury’s to warn investors of potential profit hits as they moved to remain competitive.

However, Leighton has remained measured in response to the latest market share data, stating: “Market share is something that comes and isn’t something that worries me on a day-to-day basis at all.”

“We’re making real progress, but we’ve got a long way to go. Market share will come when we do things right in a very, very consistent manner,” he added.

Asda’s total market share, including household items, currently stands at 12.1%, down from 13% a year ago, while Aldi’s has grown from 10.8% to 11.1%.

In its latest trading update, Asda reported a 5.9% drop in sales (excluding fuel) to £5 billion for the four months to 31 March. Like-for-like sales fell 3.1%, though this represented a 1.1% improvement compared with the previous quarter.

While Aldi celebrates a notable gain in market positioning, Asda is clearly focused on long-term growth through consistency and value – a strategy that continues to evolve in a highly competitive landscape.