“Lidl maintains its lead over Albert Heijn in Flanders”

The claim that Albert Heijn has now surpassed Lidl in market share in Flanders needs to be qualified, says spokesperson Isabelle Colbrandt. Based on the YouGov figures, which also include fresh food categories, the discounter maintains a lead.

“Comparing apples to apples”

“We haven’t been overtaken by Albert Heijn in Flanders,” Colbrandt tells RetailDetail. She backs this up with figures: according to research firm YouGov, Lidl’s national market share in August (MAT) was 9.4%. In Flanders, it was 9.2%, and in Wallonia, 9.8%. “Competition is fiercer in Flanders than in Wallonia, but we continue to grow there.” Growth stood at 0.1% in Flanders, 0.3% in Wallonia, and 0.2% nationally.

Lidl is responding to the claim that Albert Heijn is now larger in Flanders, a statement made by marketing director Els Lagrou at RetailDetail’s Marketing Day last week. She based this on figures from NielsenQ, which also explains the discrepancy.

“We’ve been relying on YouGov’s figures for years because they also include weighted fresh products, which NielsenIQ does not. We want to compare apples to apples: after all, as the fresh produce champion, we score disproportionately high in categories such as vegetables, fruit, and meat.” In YouGov’s first Belgian Fresh Report, published in June, Belgian consumers ranked Lidl as the number one retailer for fresh products, and the discounter also scored highest in the categories of fruits and vegetables and bread & baked goods.