Ocado and Marks & Spencer crowned big winners in Christmas supermarket battle

Ocado and Marks & Spencer have been crowned the big winners in the Christmas grocery battle.

Data from research group Kantar showed Ocado sales rose 9.6 per cent to £672 million in the three months to December 29.

Marks & Spencer saw its food and drink sales rise by 8.7 per cent over the same period, in just the latest sign of its revival.

They were the biggest increases in the sector, outpacing gains at rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s and discounters Aldi and Lidl.

By contrast, Asda’s sales fell 5.8 per cent. Asda, once Britain’s second-largest supermarket, has been in the doldrums since brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa joined private equity giant TDR Capital to buy it in a £6.8bn debt-fueled deal in 2021.

The report will be a boost for M&S bosses Stuart Machin, the chief executive, and Archie Norman, the chairman, ahead of the High Street group’s Christmas trading update tomorrow.

Not only does it suggest that M&S’s turnaround story continues, but that its partnership with Ocado is paying dividends. Ocado Retail is a 50/50 joint venture between M&S and technology group Ocado.

Under Machin’s leadership, M&S has invested in larger food halls and launched new products.

Ocado has also benefited from the introduction of a greater range of boutique and M&S products under chief executive Hannah Gibson.

The two largest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, maintained their top positions. Tesco’s sales are up 5 percent and it holds 28.5 percent of the grocery market.

Sainsbury’s hit its highest share since December 2019 at 16 per cent, while sales grew by 3.5 per cent.