UK discount supermarkets aim Christmas campaigns at middle-class

Lidl runs first-ever nationwide British TV adverts, while Aldi doubles size of Christmas range, including fresh lobster

Britain's two biggest discount stores will be taking their battle to attract middle-class shoppers on to the small screen this Christmas as Lidl launches its first ever national TV advertising campaign on Thursday.

Lidl's ad for its Deluxe range, featuring whole cooked lobster and mini Stollen, will run on several channels including ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. The company is increasing the number of products in its luxury selection by two-thirds in an effort to lift sales by 50% to nearly £64m.

Aldi will launch its festive campaign on Monday having doubled the size of its Christmas range this year to include fresh lobster tails and a fresh version of its three-bird roast, which has been a popular frozen item in recent years.

Lidl originally introduced its Deluxe range as a speciality for Christmas but rapidly expanded it last year when sales nearly doubled to £40.2m compared with £19.5m in 2011. This year Lidl is adding 200 new products to its Deluxe range including Serrano ham and a British fresh bronze turkey. They will sit alongside 300 existing luxury favourites including reindeer and caviar.

Lidl managing director Ronny Gottschlich said: "Our Deluxe products have proven to be our best selling, along with our Comte de Brismand champagne, which speaks volumes for what our customers want. We feel now is the time to fully showcase the quality of these products."

The move comes as Lidl and its fellow German discounter are stealing market share from major supermarkets including Asda, Tesco and Morrisons as shoppers search for a way to save cash.

The retailers now control nearly 7% of the UK grocery market, up from just under 6% a year ago according to data from Kantar Worldpanel.

Aldi, which has been promoting its luxury foods in press and television advertising campaigns for several years, has been outgrowing its closest rival. The retailer, which opens its 500th store on Thursday, increased sales by 31.7% in the 12 weeks to 14 October while Lidl's sales rose by 13.1%, according to Kantar.

Meanwhile, the number of shoppers using Aldi for their main weekly shop has soared 31.7% in the past year, according to the research firm Verdict. It also suggests that the proportion of well-off shoppers visiting Aldi has more than doubled to 4% year on year as nearly a third, 32.3% of the shoppers using Aldi for their main shop this year have switched from shopping at rival grocers in 2012.

Andrew Stevens, food and grocery specialist at Verdict, said: "Aldi has been the biggest winner in terms of switching and shopper number growth in 2013. This has been largely driven by shoppers switching to Aldi from the likes of Tesco and Asda."

The largest proportion of Aldi's new fans came from Tesco, which is not surprising given that it is by far the UK's biggest supermarket. The biggest switch, relative to its share of the market, came from Asda, at 19.7%.

Article Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk
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