Retailers fight against consumer caution in Spain

Spanish households have approached the start of the year cautiously, reducing their FMCG spending by -0.8%

Spanish households have approached the start of the year cautiously, reducing their FMCG spending by -0.8% for the 12 weeks ending 28 February 2016, according to the latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel. In this climate, the large retailers are proving to be a safe haven for consumers. The big retail groups have maintained their figures, with just +0.1% change from a year ago. The traditional/specialist channel has been the biggest loser in the December to February period, with a fall of -3.7%.

Against this backdrop, Lidl continues to be the best-performing chain. It has maintained its growth in recent periods and gone from 3.3% to 3.8% market share. During this time of belt-tightening Mercadona has also grown, gaining 0.3 share points and holding 22.3% of the market.

Carrefour has preserved its 8.6% share and is proving resilient to the poor evolution of the hypermarket channel, which has negatively impacted the figures of Auchan and Eroski. The Basque group is still affected by the sale of retail space but has nonetheless maintained its significant positions in the Basque Country, Galicia and the Barcelona metropolitan area through Caprabo.

Grupo DIA has also held on to the 8.2% share it had in early 2015. The good start to the year for the Spanish group, which reached 8.9% of spending in February, is not yet reflected in the cumulative figures as the chain’s poor performance over the Christmas period is still being felt.

“The beginning of the year confirms the general trends in 2015. Consumer spending continues to be down in the specialist channel as people look for value for money with the big retailers,” says Florencio García, Retail & Petrol Sector Director at Kantar Worldpanel. “In this situation the major retail groups are slightly up as they wait for a greener spring.”

“In addition to the large retailers, consumers are still seeking out other alternatives. This means that players such as Aldi, Bon Preu, Covirán and Grupo Uvesco have also been able to achieve very good numbers in the early part of this year,” he adds.

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