Latest news with #MohsinIssa
The Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Asda boss insists supermarket turnaround is on despite sales falling 3.1% and sends appeal to Sun readers
ASDA sales fell 3.1 per cent in the four months to the end of April — but its chairman insists the turnaround is on. And Allan Leighton urged Sun readers to come back to see the UK's third largest grocery chain's revitalised stores. 4 4 He told The Sun: 'We've lowered prices and improved availability of products. 'We've got a long way to go to be back to where we were, but we're getting there.' The veteran boss, now 72, returned to Asda six months ago to try to turn around the business. It has struggled since a £6.8billion buyout by Blackburn brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021. TDR bought out Zuber Issa's stake last June. Leighton was last chief exec of the chain in 2000, but left to become chairman of Royal Mail and later the Co-op. Since returning, he has reintroduced Asda prices on 10,000 products and his discounting effectively started a fresh price war. His aim, he said, is to offer goods at around 7 per cent lower than rivals, but said Asda has so far hit only the 3 per cent mark. His other main focus has been on improving availability of products, making sure the goods people want are on the shelves. Availability was less than 90 per cent when he returned last November. Sainsbury's scraps in-store changing rooms leaving shoppers furious But his changes have now improved that to 96 per cent. Mr Leighton admitted: 'We've started our work by looking after our existing customers. They lost trust because pricing was poor and availability was poor.' Now he wants to start attracting new shoppers and those who switched to another supermarket. His message to Sun readers is: 'If you've not been with us for a while, come have another look.' He said despite his age he is rolling up his sleeves to get the job done and reckons it will take between three and five years. Once he is happy with the turnaround, he said the chain will look for a new chief executive. In positive news, sales of the group's George clothing ranges were up 3.5 per cent in established stores. Petrol forecourt and convenience store sales were also up after fuel prices fell. Supermarket figures released earlier this week showed Asda's share of the grocery industry has shrunk to 12.1 per cent. The figure is the lowest since analysts Kantar started collecting data in 2011. German discount chain Aldi, in fourth with an 11.1 per cent share, is now breathing down its neck — putting Asda's position as the UK's number three under pressure. New car sales go up a gear NEW car sales in the UK grew three per cent last year, according to figures from Auto Trader. The expansion was driven by sales of company or 'fleet' vehicles. 4 But sales to consumers fell four per cent over the year. And the number of vehicles manufactured in the UK fell last month to the lowest April figure for more than 70 years. Factories hit by trade tariffs and the timing of Easter turned out just 59,203 vehicles in the month. But UK new car sales could be boosted by the international trade war, reckons Auto Trader boss Nathan Coe. He said Britain could benefit if higher import duties mean it becomes cheaper for global manufacturers to export vehicles to the UK. He said: 'If it's more expensive to export cars to other countries, it could well be the UK is a place where we find a few more new cars coming this way.' £25billion megapot THE Chancellor has revealed plans to create £25billion pension 'megafunds' which will have to invest in the UK to help fuel economic growth. An industry overhaul will let pension funds consolidate with others. Successful schemes in Australia and Canada see funds invested in infrastructure projects and big business. Rachel Reeves said it would boost people's pension pots with greater investment in clean energy and UK high-growth businesses. Named and shamed on wage PIZZA EXPRESS, Lidl, British Airways and Capita are among firms named and shamed for failing to pay some of their staff the minimum wage. They were on a Government list of 518 employers and businesses found to have underpaid workers over several years. 4 Pay for nearly 60,000 fell short of the national minimum wage, or national living wage, according to the Department for Business and Trade. At outsourcing company Capita, 5,543 workers were underpaid about £208 each on average. It said there were 'inadvertent underpayments' between 2015 and 2021 but it had repaid the money to staff. Pizza Express failed to pay about £90 on average to 8,470 workers. The chain said it was a 'historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018', and it was quickly rectified. British Airways failed to pay an average of £107 to 2,165 workers. It said it accidentally 'slightly underpaid' some of its cabin crew who joined between 2014 and 2017, but had made backdated payments to those affected. Society's 30% leap NATIONWIDE Building Society said profits leapt 30 per cent to £2.3billion in the year to the end of March, during which time it completed the takeover of Virgin Money. The mutual group said it paid out a record £1billion to members in rewards during the year, with more than four million customers handed £100. Nationwide's £2.9billion takeover of Virgin Money made it the UK's second largest mortgages and savings provider. It said integration of the acquisition was 'progressing well' but boss Debbie Crosbie added: 'It's too early to say if there'll be an impact on the workforce.' O'Leary's £84million RYANAIR chief Michael O'Leary is in line for a bonus worth more than £84million after shares in the budget airline hit a value target. Shares closed yesterday above 21 euros for a 28th consecutive day, meeting a goal set in 2019. Mr O'Leary said earlier this month: 'I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers and managers get paid 20 to 25million a year.' To take advantage of the share deal, O'Leary, 64, needs to stay at Ryanair until 2028. Ten-pin boiling HOLLYWOOD BOWL has blamed the warm weather for a fall in bookings this spring. The ten-pin bowling chain said it took a short-term hit from March to May — the sunniest spring on record. Its pay bill also bounced up £2.6million to £24.9million following April's minimum wage increases. Profits fell by 9.4 per cent to £28million in the past six months but revenues still rose slightly, as customers spent more per game. Boss Stephen Burns said: 'We're well positioned for the key summer holiday period.'
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Asda boss says ‘long way to go' in turnaround as sales fall further
There is a 'long way to go' in Asda's plan to revive the supermarket giant's fortunes, its boss has said. However, Allan Leighton, who recently rejoined the UK's third largest grocery chain after more than 20 years, said it has seen 'green shoots' in its turnaround efforts. The retailer, owned by US private equity firm TDR Capital and petrol forecourt billionaire Mohsin Issa, previously said it could take between three and five years to get fully back on track. Industry figures released earlier this week showed Asda's share of the grocery market has shrunk to 12.1% – it's lowest since Kantar started collecting data in 2011. The firm has struggled to keep up with larger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's and come under pressure from fast-growing discounters Aldi and Lidl since its debt-fuelled takeover in 2021. On Thursday, Mr Leighton said the retailer's 'prices were too high and availability was woeful' before his appointment, leading shoppers to switch. Earlier this year, the company reduced the prices of more than 10,000 products in its renewed strategy to win over shoppers. Bosses said the retailer will still follow through with ambitions to keep pricing low across rafts of products despite accelerating food inflation. The company said it hopes to win back customers across the board but can benefit from bringing its pricing 'closer' to low-priced discounter rivals. Mr Leighton said: 'Earlier this year we set out a clear ambition to make Asda the number one choice again for value-conscious families. 'To deliver this, we are making a material investment to move our entire range to a new, lower Asda Price by the end of next year. 'Although we are seeing the green shoots in sales performance, there is a long way to go, and we remain firmly focused on widening the price gap over other full-service supermarkets to give customers the savings they expect every time they shop at Asda.' It came as the Leeds-based retailer reported that total revenues, excluding fuel, fell by 5.9% to £5 billion for the first three months of 2025. The company said this included a 1.1% impact against last year's extra day trading due to the leap year. Asda added that like-for-like sales were 3.1% lower for the four months to Easter and this improved further in May.
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Asda plots £400m store sell-off to raise cash
Asda is planning to sell about 20 supermarket stores for £400m to generate more cash for the business. The supermarket chain is looking to offload the stores, which are located across the country, and lease them back for around 20 years. It has appointed property adviser Eastdil Secured to seek out buyers, according to property-focused publication Green Street News. Sale-and-leaseback deals are popular among major supermarkets as a means of raising capital to shore up their balance sheets. Sainsbury's sold and leased back some of its supermarkets for £500m in 2022, while Morrisons completed a £220m deal with asset manager ICG during the same year. In Asda's case, the retailer has been saddled with a hefty £3.8bn debt pile after a £7bn takeover in 2021 by private equity firm TDR Capital and brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa. Zuber stepped down as co-chief executive in June, selling his stake in the retailer to TDR. Mohsin followed suit in stepping down from his leadership role in September, but kept his shares. Allan Leighton, a former chief executive of Asda, returned to the business in November after a 24-year absence, to help turn its fortunes around. His strategy has included launching a fresh supermarket price war, which involves funding price cuts, improving the availability of products and refreshing tired stores. Analysts have estimated that the company's plans will cost close to £900m over the next three years. Leighton has warned that Asda's profits will suffer a 'material hit' this year to fund that investment drive, along with cuts to jobs and bonuses. Despite Asda's debt pressures, Mr Leighton appears to be relaxed about the issue. He said in March: 'People always ask me about the balance sheet, but I'm not over-concerned about it. 'Most of our [debt] maturity dates have been pushed well out [into the future]. The only time I'd ever be concerned about [it is] if I felt that was restricting us investing in the business.' He also continues to search for a new chief executive for the business. An Asda spokesman said: ' Sale-and-leasebacks have been a feature of the retail industry for many years. 'While maintaining a strong freehold base remains central to Asda's property strategy, we will consider suitable opportunities to unlock value from our property portfolio as part of our material programme of investment into the business.'
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asda sacks staff behind Mohsin Issa's IT upgrade disaster
Asda has launched a fresh round of job cuts as the grocer races to axe workers involved in a botched £800m IT upgrade that had been championed by co-owner Mohsin Issa. More than 200 employees have been sacked without consultation at the troubled supermarket, which is battling to cut costs as part of a radical turnaround plan. The latest departures were triggered as the retailer finally prepares to conclude a long-running process aimed at disentangling its technology systems from former owner Walmart. Hundreds of employees were hired to work on the three-year 'Project Future', which was championed by Issa and deemed 'mission-critical' to Asda's success. However, the project has been beset by problems and delays over the past year, recently leading Walmart to extend the completion deadline to help Asda swerve a multimillion-pound penalty. It marks the second round of redundancies in five months under Allan Leighton, the new chairman who was presented as a 'man of the people' in an interview last week. He swung the axe in January following Asda's worst Christmas trading performance since 2015, sacking 13 regional managers as part of an internal restructuring. This came after he also scrapped 10,000 staff bonuses, raising concerns over the impact on morale across the retailer's workforce. Questions may also be raised over the decision to again sack staff without any forewarning. Asda made 500 staff redundant without a consultation period last November, fuelling criticism from union chiefs who threatened to bring discrimination claims. Government rules typically require companies to carry out a 45-day consultation when dismissing 100 employees or more, although there is no suggestion Asda has broken any laws. Lord Rose, then Asda chairman, insisted at the time that no employee rules had been breached, instead claiming that it was the most 'humane way' to carry out the lay-offs. The latest job cuts have emerged as Asda continues to lose customers to rival supermarkets. Over the past year its market share has fallen from 13.7pc to 12.6pc. This faltering performance prompted Asda's majority owner, TDR Capital, to appoint Mr Leighton late last year. He was credited with turning Asda into a retail powerhouse during his first stint at the company in the 1990s, and he has since pledged to restore what he calls the 'Asda DNA'. However, he is already facing an uphill battle. The most recent trading figures from Kantar revealed sales at Asda dropped by 5pc in the four weeks to Feb 23 compared with the same period last year. This meant it was the only major grocer to suffer a decline in sales in February. In contrast, sales at Tesco grew by 5.8pc and Sainsbury's posted growth of 4.8pc. An Asda spokesman said: 'The majority of our operations have successfully transitioned to new systems as part of Project Future. For many teams the work is done and so it is natural that colleagues leave the project as the specific workstreams they are working on are completed or as their contracts finish.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Asda makes more job cuts after Mohsin Issa's botched IT upgrade
Asda has launched a fresh round of job cuts as the grocer races to axe workers involved in a botched £800m IT upgrade that had been championed by co-owner Mohsin Issa. More than 200 employees have been sacked without consultation at the troubled supermarket, which is battling to cut costs as part of a radical turnaround plan. The latest departures were triggered as the retailer finally prepares to conclude a long-running process aimed at disentangling its technology systems from former owner Walmart. Hundreds of employees were hired to work on the three-year 'Project Future', which was championed by Issa and deemed 'mission-critical' to Asda's success. However, the project has been beset by problems and delays over the past year, recently leading Walmart to extend the completion deadline to help Asda swerve a multimillion-pound penalty. Radical restructuring It marks the second round of redundancies in five months under Allan Leighton, the new chairman who was presented as a 'man of the people' in an interview last week. He swung the axe in January following Asda's worst Christmas trading performance since 2015, sacking 13 regional managers as part of an internal restructuring. This came after he also scrapped 10,000 staff bonuses, raising concerns over the impact on morale across the retailer's workforce. Questions may also be raised over the decision to again sack staff without any forewarning. Asda made 500 staff redundant without a consultation period last November, fuelling criticism from union chiefs who threatened to bring discrimination claims. Government rules typically require companies to carry out a 45-day consultation when dismissing 100 employees or more, although there is no suggestion Asda has broken any laws. Lord Rose, then Asda chairman, insisted at the time that no employee rules had been breached, instead claiming that it was the most 'humane way' to carry out the lay-offs. Falling behind the competition The latest job cuts have emerged as Asda continues to lose customers to rival supermarkets. Over the past year its market share has fallen from 13.7pc to 12.6pc. This faltering performance prompted Asda's majority owner, TDR Capital, to appoint Mr Leighton late last year. He was credited with turning Asda into a retail powerhouse during his first stint at the company in the 1990s, and he has since pledged to restore what he calls the 'Asda DNA'. However, he is already facing an uphill battle. The most recent trading figures from Kantar revealed sales at Asda dropped by 5pc in the four weeks to Feb 23 compared with the same period last year. This meant it was the only major grocer to suffer a decline in sales in February. In contrast, sales at Tesco grew by 5.8pc and Sainsbury's posted growth of 4.8pc. An Asda spokesman said: 'The majority of our operations have successfully transitioned to new systems as part of Project Future. For many teams the work is done and so it is natural that colleagues leave the project as the specific workstreams they are working on are completed or as their contracts finish.'
