Aldi and Lidl's double-pronged assault on 'big four'

摘要

They are the most disruptive and influential retailers operating in Britain today, yet Aldi and Lidl remain something of a mystery as businesses. No one outside the "big four" supermarkets has shaken the grocery industry in the 21st century as much as the German discounters. In the past month, billions of pounds has been wiped off the value of Britain's listed food retailers because of fears they will be forced to launch a price war to stop the rise of Aldi and Lidl. Morrisons has committed £lbn over the next three years to fighting off the discounters through price cuts, while Tesco, Sainsbury's and unlisted Asda could follow suit in the next few weeks.The combined market share for Aldi and Lidl stands at just 7.5%, compared with 75% for Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. However, the basic market share statistics do not do justice to the influence of the discounters. Aldi and Lidl are growing at 10 times the rate of the total market, while at the same time the "big four" are all losing market share for the first time on record.