Sainsbury39;s sales up 9.3 in 12 weeks to Dec. 24 Kantar
Tesco sales up 7.5 in 12 weeks to Dec. 24 Kantar
UK grocery inflation slows to 6.7 in December Kantar

LONDON, Jan 3 Reuters Germanowned discounters Aldi and Lidl, No. 2 player Sainsbury39;s, and market leader Tesco were the biggest winners among British supermarkets at Christmas, according to industry data published on Wednesday.

Market researcher Kantar said those performing not so well included Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland.

Marks Spencer, which analysts believe performed well, is not included in Kantar39;s monthly data set.

The researcher said that over the 12 weeks to Dec. 24, Sainsbury39;s sales were up 9.3 year on year, pushing up its market share to 15.8, its highest since December 2020.

Tesco39;s sales rose 7.5, and its market share edged up 0.1 percentage point to 27.6.

Shares in Sainsbury39;s, which have gained 33 in the last 12 months, rose 1.6 in early deals. Tesco, which has seen a 28 share price rise in the same period, traded up 1.

Kantar recorded Lidl39;s sales growth at 13.8 and Aldi39;s at 9.9, increasing their combined market share to 17.

Lidl and Aldi on Tuesday reported sales growth of 12 and 8 respectively for December.

Kantar said a record 13.7 billion pounds 17.3 billion passed through UK supermarket tills over the four weeks to Dec. 24.

Total takehome grocery sales grew in value by 7.0, a figure largely driven by inflation, which slowed to 6.7 in the period from 9.1…