Asda to slash over 6,000 SKUs to boost volume
Asda is set to drastically reduce its range in the coming year, as it looks to axe around 6,000 SKUs to boost its suppliers’ volumes.
Addressing journalists in a post-trading call, executive chairman Allan Leighton said the supermarket would make the changes in a category-by-category review, led by chief commercial officer Kris Comerford.
First reported by The Grocer, Leighton said: “We’ve got around 30,000 SKUs, and we probably need to be in the 24 to 25,000 range, so we’re probably 5,000 over-SKUed.
“The challenge I’ve given Kris is to get that adjustment made in the next 12 months, and we’ve already started that as we go through the range reviews and the range and price architecture by category.
“We’re adjusting both that and the way that the product is displayed on the shelves.”
The chairman added that the move would benefit suppliers by boosting volume sales, allowing them to sell more per SKU.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
Last week, Leighton said he was focused on increasing the grocery retailer’s availability, and that Asda’s turnaround relied on getting “all the basic stuff right”.
“I’m not looking for the silver bullet or the next great idea. It is about getting the range right, getting the price right and getting the availability right. And we’ve got to win the hearts and minds back of our people.
“These are the things that we need to fix, but they’re under our control, they’re not reliant on anybody else to do it,” he said, adding that the business had already upped its availability from 90% to 94%, with a goal to get back to the 98.5% level it was in 2001.
Leighton’s comments also follow the supermarket chain today (14 March), revealing it had experienced positive growth last year, despite a dip in sales, as it pushed ahead with its turnaround plan.
For the year to 31 December 2024, Asda’s adjusted EBITDA after rent rose 5.8% to £1.14bn, bolstered by improved gross margins, particularly in non-food, which it said reflects the “strength and scale” of its George clothing business.
2 Comments. Leave new
We keep hearing statements from the top table, but on the shopfloor we haven’t seen any changes.
Hours are still being cut, people leaving and not being replaced.
Morale still rock bottom with no faith in Asda management especially at GSM level
Asda quality is poor service is poor not enough till staff massive queues all the time over priced no wonder profits are low and custom is low