Asda received further evidence yesterday that it is holding off rival Sainsbury's in the battle for second spot in the grocery market.
Research from market research group TNS Superpanel put Asda's share at 16.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to August 14, compared with Sainsbury's at 15.7 per cent.
Tesco is still way out in front at 30.5 per cent after improving its position from 28.1 per cent in the same period a year earlier.
Lacklustre sales figures from Asda earlier in the year had raised fears about the performance of the Wal-Mart owned company, but the figures showed its supermarket share improved from the
16.6 per cent reported last month.
A revitalised Sainsbury's has improved its share of the sector from 15.4 per cent in August 2004, although the figure was down on the 15.9 per cent seen last month.
The combined share for Morrisons and Safeway continued to fall sharply as a total of 196 store disposals took their toll on selling space. The chain accounted for 11.3 per cent of the market, compared with 13.9 per cent last year.
Somerfield captured 5.9 per cent of spending, while Waitrose secured 3.7 per cent.
