Waitrose gets sales boost from new range - Nielsen

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Upmarket British food retailer
Waitrose [JLP.UL] has seen a surge in sales and shopper numbers
since the launch of its new "essentials" range of staple
products, market researcher Nielsen said on Tuesday.

Sales at Waitrose, the grocery arm of employee-owned
retailer The John Lewis Partnership, jumped 8.4 percent
year-on-year in the four weeks to June 13, close to the best
performing of its mass-market rivals, Nielsen said.

Almost a quarter of a million new shoppers also visited the
chain compared with the same four weeks last year, and spend per
visit was up over 5 percent, the market researcher said.

Nielsen said sales growth for Britain's grocery sector as a
whole accelerated to 5 percent in the four week period, compared
with a 4.3 percent rise over the 12 weeks to June 4.

Growth rates among Britain's top four grocers were fairly
similar, it added, echoing a similar survey from market
researchers TNS WorldPanel. [ID:nLN470143]

Sales at market leader Tesco (TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 6.6 percent in
the 12 week period, while number two Asda (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) saw growth of
9.3 percent, and numbers three and four J Sainsbury SNRY.L and
Wm Morrison (MRW.L: Quote, Profile, Research) both saw growth of 8.7 percent.

Following is a summary of Nielsen's findings for the 12
weeks to June 14:

% Share of total grocery

market spend

12 wks to 12 wks to Value sales

14/06/08 13/06/09 pct change y/y
Tesco 28.0 28.2 6.6
Asda 15.2 15.7 9.3
Sainsbury 14.3 14.7 8.7
Morrison 10.4 10.7 8.7
Co-Op 6.3 6.1 3.9
Waitrose 3.5 3.5 7.9
M&S 3.7 3.6 4.4
Somerfield 3.6 3.0 -10.9
Iceland 1.7 1.8 1.2