Asda sees ‘green shoots’ of recovery as turnaround continues
The grocer reported sales excluding fuel fell 5.9% to £5bn in the four months to 31 March. On a like-for-like basis, trading declined 3.1%. This represented a 1.1% improvement compared to its previous quarter.
Leighton launched a price war against its rivals at the start of the year, which saw the return of the supermarket’s Rollback and Asda Prices proposition.
The retailer reported it had now lowered the prices of around 10,000 products – more than a third of its range – which it claims has established a price gap of between 3% and 6% compared to traditional full-service supermarkets.
“Although we are seeing the green shoots in sales performance, there is a long way to go, and we remain firmly focussed on widening the price gap over other full-service supermarkets to give customers the savings they expect every time they shop at Asda,” Leighton said.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
Asda’s Express convenience business delivered a 6% increase in sales over the quarter following the integration of all 469 convenience stores and fuel sites acquired from The Co-op and EG Group.
The retailer plans to open at least 25 new Express stores this year in residential and city centre areas.
Asda also reported strong growth in its George fashion arm, which saw a 3.5% increase in like-for-like sales and outperformed the fashion market by 2% on volume.
The supermarket is keen to capitalise on the positive performance of its fashion business with the rollout of standalone George stores.
Leighton said he thinks there’s an opportunity for the retailer to open around 100 sites in the UK following a positive reception to its new concept store in Leeds at the start of the month.
