Retail giant Pick n Pay on Tuesday refuted comments made by Shoprite with respect to the market shares of both companies, branding its statistics 'hogwash'.

In an operational update on Monday Shoprite said it now boasted the largest share of all supermarket groups in South Africa. "This was achieved in a period in which internal food inflation declined to a third of what it was for the same period of the previous year."

The group said that it increased its market share by 1.6 percent to its highest level of 31.67 percent in September.

Pick n Pay responded by saying that Shoprite's comments were 'just plain wrong'.

"Nielsens have subsequently backed up the figures Pick n Pay presented at its year end results last week, which show that Pick n Pay had increased its market share over the 12-month period (8 August to 9 August) by 0.4 percent.

"The numbers quoted by Nielsen then substantiate the fact that Pick n Pay is indeed South Africa's largest supermarket chain, and by a considerable margin," the group said.

Pick n Pay pointed to the following numbers revealed at the analyst's presentation, which included Boxer and excluded Score (a discontinued operation) for PnP and includes OK Foods (Sentra conversions) and Usave for Shoprite/Checkers ? annual ending August 09:

PnP Group 12m August 08 33.5 percent and 12m August 09 33.9 percent 12m Aug 09 Shoprite 29 percent

It added that if Score were included into the PnP Group total the market share would have been 34.6 percent for the same twelve-month period.

Pick n Pay said that comparable market share figures for September 09 saw its share at 33.3 percent including Boxer, and at 33.5 percent including Score, while Shoprite enjoyed a 30.8 percent share.

"Ultimately, however, Pick n Pay does maintain that profitable market share is more important than market share in isolation," it said.

Nick Badminton, CEO of Pick n Pay said: "We do not wish to engage in a debate on market share in the media with Shoprite but will rely on Nielsens, from where we both derive our statistics, to provide empirical information.

These figures speak for themselves."