Asda sales downturn deepens as bosses struggle to revive supermarket

Telegraph

a day ago

Asda's sales slump has deepened as bosses struggle to win shoppers back following months of declines.
The supermarket recorded a 2.6pc fall in sales in the 12 weeks to Aug 10, according to figures from industry tracker Worldpanel. It marks the latest in a series of drops, with Asda's sales having fallen every month since March 2024.
The latest decline meant its share of the grocery market slipped to 11.8pc in the middle of August from 12.7pc a year earlier.
This is down from 15pc in 2021, when Asda was bought by TDR Capital and the brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa in a debt-fuelled takeover.
It comes as Asda bosses battle to stage a turnaround of the supermarket, pushing through a wave of price cuts and overhauling tired stores in an effort to revive its fortunes.
Earlier this year, Asda chairman Allan Leighton said profits would be materially lower this year amid a major investment drive. He has claimed that the retailer is not rushing efforts to improve its performance, saying: 'There is absolutely no pressure on me or the business to come up with a quick fix.
'A quick fix would be completely the wrong thing to do.'
However, the supermarket has been pushing ahead with a drive to improve its stores. The Telegraph revealed last month that Asda was pressuring suppliers including Heinz, Nestlé and General Mills to offer it lower prices, which it could pass on to shoppers.
It has also been dramatically reducing its range in recent months to help drive higher sales volumes for the products which it is still stocking.
Mr Leighton has suggested there are early signs that the turnaround efforts are working, with the supermarket arguing that lower prices are partly to blame for the decline in overall sales.
However, Asda remained the only major supermarket to record a sales drop in the latest Worldpanel figures.
The latest Worldpanel figures also showed signs of pressure at Morrisons, with sales rising just 0.9pc in the 12-week period to Aug 10. This marked a slight slowdown from the prior month, when sales were up 1pc on the prior year.
Lidl has been closing the gap with Morrisons on shopper numbers, threatening to overtake the supermarket in the rankings of Britain's biggest grocers.
On Tuesday, Lidl's market share stood at 8.3pc compared to Morrisons's 8.4pc. Analysts have suggested Lidl will overtake Morrisons before the end of the year.
Separate figures seen by The Telegraph revealed that Marks & Spencer managed to stage a comeback in the latest four-week period, as it shrugged off a hit from a cyber attack earlier this year.
Spending at Marks & Spencer was up 6.1pc in the four weeks to Aug 10, according to unpublished Worldpanel figures, which meant it was growing ahead of the market.
It will come as a boost to Marks & Spencers bosses, who have been battling months of disruption in the wake of a crippling hack of its systems in April.
The attack had hit deliveries into its food stores. Figures from June suggested the attack meant rapid growth at Marks & Spencer's food business ground to a halt, with analysts at NIQ saying spending in Marks & Spencers's food halls rose by 0.8pc in the four weeks to May 17.
It marked a major slowdown following months of rapid growth, with grocery spending at Marks & Spencers having been up by 11pc in the 12 months to May 17.