Sales at J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY) and Asda, which have agreed to merge, lagged behind their ‘big four’ supermarket rivals in the 12 weeks to April 22, industry data revealed on Tuesday.
Kantar Worldpanel said sales at Sainsbury’s rose 0.2% while Asda, owned by Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), increased 1.4%.
That compares to sales growth of 2.1% at Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) and a 2.2% gain at WM Morrison Supermarkets (LON:MRW).
Sainsbury’s and Asda both lost market share during the period, down 0.3 percentage points (pts) and 0.1 pts respectively on the previous year.
As it stands, Sainsbury’s is the second largest supermarket after Tesco in terms of market share followed by Asda in third place and Morrisons in fourth.
But if Sainsbury’s plan to merge with Asda goes ahead, the enlarged group will take the top spot from Tesco.
The two supermarkets confirmed the £15bn merger on Tuesday. Both supermarket brands will remain intact and Sainsbury’s has insisted there were no plans to close stores after the merger.
READ: Sainsbury's confirms £15bn Asda merger and dismisses reports stores will close
The deal still needs approval from shareholders and the UK Competition and Markets Authority.