They were supposed to revolutionise shopping, threaten the multiples' domination of the grocery market, and offer greater choice to the less well-off. Eight years on, have the overseas discounters really fulfilled their early promise? The return of Henrik Gundelach to Netto, as reported on page four this week, is further evidence of things not going the discounters' way. Certainly, Netto can bullishly point to its expansion programme, but analysts are not so sanguine. The discounters may be running out not so much of ideas, but of sheer possibilities. While the initial rate of openings by Aldi, Netto and Lidl matched the ambitious programmes planned when they first set foot here, their impact, after an early flourish, has now undeniably abated. According to Taylor Nelson AGB, none of the incomers has yet reached a 1% share of the grocery trade, Lidl making the slowest progress with just 0.5%. Indeed, if it were not for home-grown Kwik Save, the sector would barely register on the Richter scale. What has happened? Initially, the multiples were caught on the hop. Somehow they were able to live with KS, whose only ploy was to offer a select batch of branded goods at lower prices. When Kwik Save decided to drop its brands-only policy, the major players put more emphasis on own label. Overseas discounters, whose promotional activities are centred on obscure brand names, have proved no match for the leading chains, who have reacted by introducing value ranges alongside more upmarket own labels and brand leaders. The Continentals also underestimated the snobbery of the British shopper. "Even people on low incomes don't like to be seen in a hard discounter," one leading analyst said. "They'd rather buy Value lines from Tesco." If there is comfort for the discounters, it may only be the crumbs from the table. As the analyst summed up: "Discounters will still find a niche among people who don't make food a priority in their lives, don't care much about quality and don't attach any social cachet to shopping in the right place."{{NEWS}}