“Dunnes Stores has returned to first place, capturing 22.7% share – only the second time it has managed to reach the top, having first held this position in November last year,” said David Berry, director at Kantar Worldpanel Ireland, the market research firm that published the figures.

Only 0.3 percentage points separate the new leader from its closest competitors, SuperValu and Tesco. SuperValu is the only chain that saw its sales dip (by 0.4%) in the 12 weeks to 29 January compared with the same period last year.

Vegetable shortages from southern European suppliers have dampened sales in recent weeks, according to Kantar. “Courgettes, cauliflower and spinach have all seen volume sales drop by at least 20%, while a host of other categories, including lettuce and cabbages, have been affected to a lesser degree,” Berry said.

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