Latest news with #BigJanPriceDrop
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asda cuts prices on 1,500 items to boost savings for shoppers
UK supermarket chain Asda is intensifying its focus on delivering value to its customers by slashing prices on 1,500 products available in its physical stores and through its online platform. The surge in Rollback price reductions brings the total number of products that have seen price decreases close to 10,000 - almost one-third of Asda's full product lineup, - since the retailer re-instated its pricing strategy at the start of 2025. Shoppers can expect to see discounts across a variety of categories. On average, prices will be cut by 22%, with selected items seeing drops of as much as 45%. The price reductions range from dairy to personal care essentials. Asda executive chairman Allan Leighton stated: 'Last week we signalled again our absolute commitment to lowering prices for customers and today we're further delivering on that promise. By rolling back prices on thousands more products, we're making it even easier for our customers to save. Nearly 10,000 products have now been rolled back and we will continue to invest in lowering prices across the rest of the year and beyond.' Furthering its commitment to easing the financial strain on consumers, Asda has also implemented an immediate reduction of 4p per litre on fuel at all Asda and Asda Express petrol stations. In January 2025, Asda unveiled a significant price reduction campaign, the Big Jan Price Drop, which saw more than 2,500 essential products experience an average price drop of 26%. "Asda cuts prices on 1,500 items to boost savings for shoppers" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Sky News
18-03-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Supermarket price war could bring consumers some relief but only because the government is pushing up costs
The air is suddenly full of talk about supermarket price wars. Some £4.4bn was wiped from the stock market valuations of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer on Monday following comments from Allan Leighton, the executive chairman of Asda, on Friday in which he promised the grocer was planning its biggest price cuts in 25 years. Mr Leighton, who returned to Asda last November, said there was a "war chest" available to Asda and indicated he was prepared to "materially" forego profits in the short term to win back market share. He told The Times: "We have a long way to go. We're three months into what is going to be three years of really getting the basics of the business right and getting the business to outperform the rest of the industry on a like-for-like basis. "That's what restores our market share and profitability. It ain't going to happen overnight." Those remarks are rightly being taken seriously by investors - by the market close on Monday Tesco shares had fallen by nearly 15% since Friday morning and those of Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's by 10% and 9% apiece. That is because nobody, arguably, knows Asda better than Mr Leighton. What's gone wrong at Asda? It was he, along with current Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman, who rescued Asda from collapse in the early 1990s before selling the business to US giant Walmart in 1999. Initially, that transaction appeared to go well, with Asda wresting the number two slot in the UK grocery market from Sainsbury's in 2003. But Walmart's insistence on preserving margins gradually saw its share eroded and the number two slot recaptured by Sainsbury's. By 2019, it was clear Asda was no longer regarded as a core asset by Walmart. That was the year an attempt was made, blocked by competition regulators, to merge the business with Sainsbury's. Worse was to follow. In October 2020, Walmart offloaded a majority stake in the grocer to the petrol forecourts billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and the private equity firm TDR Capital. The debt taken on during the takeover blunted Asda's competitiveness and resulted in it losing market share - mainly to Tesco and Sainsbury's but also to the German hard discounters Aldi and Lidl. It went through a series of managers before TDR Capital bought out Zuber Issa in June last year to take a majority 67.5% stake while Mohsin Issa, who retains 22.5% of the business, relinquished the day-to-day running of the business. A new era Cue the return of Mr Leighton. Within weeks, after Asda was the worst-performing supermarket over the Christmas period, he had announced a 'Big Jan Price Drop' price-cutting campaign which saw average price reductions of 26% on selected products. That was dismissed by rivals, most notably Ken Murphy, the chief executive of market leader Tesco, as not representing a genuine price war. Mr Leighton's response has been to reintroduce the 'Rollback' price-cutting promotions he and Mr Norman introduced in the 1990s in a bid to revive the spirit of the old 'That's Asda Price' campaigns, complete with shoppers patting their back pockets, backed by heavy newspaper and television advertising. It is being seen by industry experts as a wider price-cutting initiative than the more limited campaign Asda had been running to 'price match' Aldi and Lidl. While the price cuts are the most eye-catching initiatives, so far as consumers will be concerned, Mr Leighton has also spent £43m on extending opening hours for some stores and has also bolstered his management team. The most important hire was David Lepley, the group retail director at Morrisons, who was appointed in February as chief supply chain officer - a recognition that Asda needed to sharpen up on its product availability. Can the new boss work his magic again? The big question many in the industry have is whether Mr Leighton - who has since leaving Asda in 2000 had a spell as chairman of the Co-op - can work his magic again. The grocery market now is very different from the one in the 1990s when Tesco was only in the foothills of the explosive growth it was later to enjoy, first under Lord MacLaurin and then under Sir Terry Leahy, while Sainsbury's was going through a fallow period. Morrisons, which acquired the old Safeway chain in 2004, was also a much smaller business than it is today. Moreover, in the 1990s, the hard discounters Aldi and Lidl - who entered the UK in 1990 and 1994 respectively - had a miniscule market presence. Hard discounting in grocery retail was also less developed than today with the old Kwik-Save chain its leading exponent. In other words, the climate was ripe for a player like Asda to seize share with big, well-targeted price cuts, snappy advertising and, crucially, excellent product availability. Compare that with today. A different time Tesco's market position is as dominant as it has ever been while Sainsbury's is a strongly entrenched number two in the market and a revived Morrisons, under Rami Baitiéh, has also returned to growth. Aldi and Lidl, although the former has recently seen its market share slipping, also remain formidable competitors. Tesco and Sainsbury's, who have benefited more than anyone from Asda's travails, have the most to lose in the event of a turnaround. But they are also better placed than anyone else to withstand one: Tesco's Clubcard is arguably the world's most successful supermarket loyalty and rewards scheme and provides the grocer with data and insights that no one else has, enabling it to react rapidly to changes in the market or to shopper habits. Sainsbury's is trying to do something similar with Nectar, while both schemes are increasingly able to personalise offers to individual customers, entrenching loyalty. That may become even more important if, as Simon Roberts, Sainsbury's chief executive, asserts, the 'big weekly shop' is becoming more important as working from home becomes less common. Tesco and Sainsbury's sharper than they used to be As the renowned sector watcher Clive Black, analyst at investment bank Shore Capital puts it: "We need to remember that the listed players are better grocers than Asda with a broader customer set, stronger balance sheets and a will to remain competitive". He points out that, apart from the advantages bestowed by their loyalty programmes, Tesco and Sainsbury's are sharper on price than they used to be, are able to price-match Aldi meaningfully and offer better ranges and more choice than both the German pair and Asda. That view is shared by the retail team at brokerage Jefferies which has questioned whether Asda's price cuts can deliver the increase in grocery volumes in the time it requires without a fresh injection of capital from shareholders. What about consumers? Will this be good news for consumers? Possibly. But the grocery sector will be hit hard by the forthcoming increase in the national living wage and, more especially, the rise in employer's national insurance contributions announced by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, in her autumn budget. Those measures will not only push up the costs of supermarkets but also those of their suppliers. Those higher costs will at least be partly passed on to customers. So too will be the cost of implementing new recycling regulations due in October. And, all the while, food price inflation is picking up in staples such as eggs, milk and butter. The British Retail Consortium is expecting food price inflation to be north of 4% during the second half of this year. Accordingly, while Asda's price war may bring some relief, it feels more likely at present as if it will merely result in lower price rises than British shoppers would otherwise have experienced rather than an outright drop in prices across the board.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asda signals 2025 profit dip as trust-rebuilding efforts intensify
British supermarket chain Asda has reported a slight decline in total revenue for the year ended 31 December 2024, with figures falling from £21.9bn in fiscal 2023 to £21.7bn ($28.05bn). Despite this decrease, the retailer saw its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) after rent rise by 5.8% to reach £1.14bn. Asda attributed the growth to better gross margins, especially in the non-food sector, showcasing the strength of its George clothing line and incorporating a full year of profits from the 356 Asda Express convenience stores and forecourt sites acquired from EG Group. During the fiscal year, the retailer's like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, were down by 3.4% and net debt remained stable at £3.8bn by year-end. Asda executive chairman Allan Leighton stated: 'Everyone is focused on making Asda the number one choice again for busy hard-working families who demand value. This is what's driving all of our actions across pricing, ranging, merchandising and every part of the business.' The supermarket chain has also refinanced a significant portion of its debt maturities due in 2025 and 2026, totalling £3.2bn, even paying down £0.3bn from cash reserves. The strategic move extends all remaining maturities into the next decade. In January 2025, Asda has revitalised its Rollback to Asda Price initiative, offering an average price reduction of 25% across 4,000 popular products. The programme has been expanded to encompass a quarter of Asda's entire product range and will continue to grow throughout 2025. As part of its strategy to transition its entire product range to a new low Asda Price by the end of 2026, thousands more products will join the Rollback roster at regular intervals. Asda also invested an extra £43m in store hours during the second half of 2024 to enhance replenishment processes and improve overall store standards. In January 2025, the retailer unveiled the Big Jan Price Drop, slashing the cost of thousands of frequently purchased items. 'Following the return of Rollback in January, our price advantage has strengthened and customers' perceptions of the value we offer is starting to improve. We will move thousands more products to Rollback at regular intervals this year,' Leighton added. Asda has also issued profit warning amid a strategic shift to rebuild customer trust. Leighton stated: 'Looking ahead we still have plenty of work to get our business firing on all cylinders again. While regaining customers' trust will take time, we will undertake a substantive and well-backed programme of investment in price, availability and the shopping experience to deliver this. This will materially reduce our profitability this year, which we expect to reverse as our market share recovers and improves over time.' "Asda signals 2025 profit dip as trust-rebuilding efforts intensify" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asda Pilsworth store completes £2m renovation project
Supermarket chain Asda has completed the £2m ($2.5m) overhaul of its store in Pilsworth, Bury, England - the brand's most significant investment in a single location for many years. The 61,000ft² store features a refreshed aesthetic with new lighting and signage and a reorganised layout with a more efficient food hall to enhance the shopping experience. In the produce aisle, shoppers will find newly installed low-level refrigeration units, while a specialised area for wine and spirits has also been introduced. Further updates have been made to the George clothing line and General Merchandise sections to modernise their offerings. The Pilsworth location contains the first Asda Kitchen, a revamped café concept aiming to rejuvenate the supermarket's dining spaces across its branches. The new café format provides a contemporary eating environment akin to a coffee shop and includes an updated menu with both traditional and healthier options. Customers can place orders through a staffed register, self-service kiosk or by scanning a QR code for table service. Asda recently revealed that the store would be testing its rewards digital sampling vending machine, which allows customers to sample new products from partner brands by scanning their Asda Rewards ID. Asda general store manager Dan Grindrod stated: 'After months of hard work from all involved, we're excited to welcome the local community into our newly upgraded Pilsworth store. This investment has enabled us to create a modern shopping environment that makes it easier for the customers we serve to find the products and value they've come to expect from Asda.' Following temporary changes during refurbishment, store hours are set to revert to normal. Shoppers can also take advantage of the re-introduced Rollback promotion - part of Asda's larger strategy to reduce prices. The initiative sees over 4,000 items discounted by an average of 25%, with some prices 5% lower than competitors' promotional offers. At the start of 2025, Asda unveiled a significant price reduction campaign, the Big Jan Price Drop, slashing the cost of thousands of frequently purchased items. "Asda Pilsworth store completes £2m renovation project " was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
