Spanish supermarkets accounted for 62 per cent of all the packaged food sales in that country in 2002, with revenues reaching €12,3 billion, according to the latest data from AC Nielsen cited by Europa Press.
Supermarkets also increased their share of the market by 3.5 per cent, taking it from their larger rivals, hypermarkets, or from traditional stores, which lost 2.5 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.
The data showed that packaged food revenues reached €19.8 billion in total during 2002, up 6.6 per cent compared to the previous year, with 3.1 per cent coming from increased sales and 3.5 per cent from higher prices.
Nielsen also noted that the increased share of sales through supermarkets was due in no small part to the growing number of such stores (of between 1,000 and 2,500 square metres) and the relative lack of new hypermarket openings (which are more tightly controlled by Spanish law). Nielsen said that that there were 15 per cent more supermarkets in Spain in 2002, taking the total to 1,539.
Despite tough planning restrictions, there was a 2 per cent rise in the number of hypermarkets and stores above 2,500 square metres to 13,720 while the number of traditional food stores and stores under 100 square metres dropped 5 per cent to 43,193.
As far as product segments are concerned, dairy products were the top sellers in the Spanish supermarket sector, accounting for 70 per cent of total dairy product sales, followed by frozen food, which accounted for 65 per cent. Hypermarkets remained the most popular outlets when it came to beverages, accounting for 29 per cent of the total, and for canned food (26 per cent), while traditional stores were the outlet of choice for cooked meats (19 per cent). They also accounted for a large slice of drinks sales (15 per cent of the total).
The Nielsen figures also show that supermarket private labels increased their share of the total packaged food market to 18.9 per cent, lifting value sales by 16 per cent to €5 billion. The most popular product segments for private labels were canned food and frozen food, with shares of 31 and 27 per cent respectively, while the least popular segment was drinks, where they accounted for just 11 per cent of total sales.