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Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
Supermarkets
The unstoppable advance of German discounters continues ... (with a little help from their ex-army staff)
Aldi’s novel recruitment strategy may have had something to do with the chain’s success in the supermarket sector last year.
THE VALUE OF sales at German discounters Aldi and Lidl is up over 13 per cent in the past year, according to the latest data from analysts Kantar Worldpanel.
There’s been a 13.5 per cent increase in sales at the two supermarkets in the 12 months up to January 2015. 8 per cent of the total take home grocery spend was at Aldi last year, while 7.4 per cent was at Lidl.
Elsewhere, retail giant Tesco is still holding on to the number one spot — but the brand has seen a two per cent decrease in its sector share in the same period.
Dunnes Stores is down only marginally on its 2013 performance, while Supervalu also drops slightly.
The positive figures for the German retailers come in the wake of yesterday’s front page story in the Sunday Times that Aldi has been turning to the officer ranks of the Irish army to recruit senior staff.
At least a dozen of the supermarket’s 50 managers in Ireland are former Defence Forces staff members, the paper reported, quoting army sources.
Meanwhile, there was another announcement from Aldi this morning. The retailer confirmed five new jobs would come on stream as a result of a new deal with Monaghan-based Connolly Meats to provide bacon products.
Christmas performance
Supermarket retailers enjoyed their best Christmas since 2010 last year according to Kantar, as consumer confidence was reflected in householders’ festive spend.
“Growing confidence in the economy meant shoppers relaxed the purse strings this Christmas, visiting the supermarkets more often in the seasonal period than last year,” Kantar’s Georgieann Harrington said.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, festive shoppers reached for the treats, and sales of confectionery grew by 6 per cent, crisps and snacks were up by 3 per cent and soft drinks enjoyed a 2 per cent sales growth.
“The battle for market share looks set to continue well into 2015,” Harrington added.
“With the top three retailers separated by the narrowest of margins, it really is all to play for in the coming months.”
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