Sainsbury closes gap on Asda

SAINSBURY'S has continued to edge closer to rival Asda in the battle for more market share, new figures show. The news comes as the Asda chief announced a beefing-up of his management team to spark a fightback against the dominant Tesco - which now has nearly a third of the market.

Sainsbury's, the country's third supermarket group, increased its share of the grocery market to 15.9% in the 12 weeks to 22 May, up from 15.5% in the same period last year, according to the latest data from market research group TNS Superpanel.

This brought it closer to its nearest competitor Asda, owned by US retail giant Wal-Mart, whose share slipped to 16.5% from 16.6%. Both were still well behind Tesco, which increased its share from 27.6% to 29.9%. Tesco overtook Sainsbury's in the mid-Nineties and has since raced ahead of its rivals.

The new chief executive of Asda, Andy Bond, has secured the return of David Cheesewright, who was sent to run Wal-Mart's Canadian business 12 months ago. The latest information from TNS will confirm the necessity of the move.

Sainsbury's, which is in the middle of a major turnaround programme, said last month it was seeing early signs of improvement despite unveiling a 62% slump in annual profits to £254m.

Edward Garner, communications director at TNS Superpanel, said: 'The Sainsbury's market share consolidates the positive picture already established. This represents real turnover growth of 5% and confirms the solidity of the recovery.'

Research from TNS released earlier this year showed Sainsbury's had grown faster than Asda for the first time in a decade.