Lidl overtakes Morrisons to become fifth largest supermarket in UK

Lidl has overtaken Morrisons to become the fifth largest grocer in Great Britain as its sales were powered ahead by households seeking to keep a lid on their weekly bills. The German-owned discounter increased its sales by 8.8% year on year – making it the fastest-growing store-based grocer – to hit a record high market share of 8.6% over the 12 weeks to 17 May, according to figures from the market analysts Worldpanel by Numerator. That compared with an 8.3% share for Morrisons in the period as the Bradford-based chain grew its sales by only 1.3% compared with a year earlier. Twenty-five years ago, Lidl accounted for only 1.4% of the grocery market, behind long-gone names such as Safeway, Somerfield and Kwik Save. Since then it has rapidly opened stores and broadened its appeal to become more of a weekly shopping destination. Since establishing itself in the UK in 1994, Lidl GB has now reached 1,000 stores and 13 distribution centres, employing 35,000 people in England, Scotland and Wales. In the year to February 2025, sales rose 8.3% to £11.7bn at Lidl GB and profits more than doubled to £156.8m. In April, Lidl pledged to open 50 UK stores in the year ahead and to invest more than £600m in expansion in the country. Lidl now sits behind the fellow German-owned discounter Aldi, which is the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket. Aldi is now less than one percentage point behind struggling Asda, where sales continue to fall back despite efforts at a turnaround. …