Albert Heijn and Jumbo conquer market share from Superunie | Financial

Albert Heijn remains by far the largest supermarket chain in the country and has 35.9% of the market, according to figures from NielsenIQ. That was 35% a year earlier. According to Albert Heijn, 0.2 percentage point of that growth is due to the acquisition of 38 Deen supermarkets. The market share of the largest competitor Jumbo rose to 21.8%, compared to 21.5% from a year earlier.

Dutch supermarkets had a turnover of €44.6 billion in 2021. On a comparable basis, according to NielsenIQ, this is a growth of 1.7%. In absolute terms, sales fell by 0.2% because 2020 had an extra week.

Cigarettes and beer

Supermarkets benefited from extra sales of cigarettes, among other things, because tobacco shops were closed for a while due to corona measures. The sale of beer also received an impulse, just like a year earlier, because consumers were at home more often. More candles, batteries and magazines were also sold.

Supermarkets again sold much more groceries via the internet last year. Online revenue increased by 30% to €2.4 billion. Home delivery at Albert Heijn now accounts for about 10% of the total turnover.

NielsenIQ expects 2022 to be a ‘challenging year’, partly because price increases seem inevitable. “Although sales will be positively influenced by price increases, the question is whether consumers will continue to buy as much,” the market researcher said in a statement.

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