Asda is pushing ahead with its plans to axe 5,000 SKUs as part of efforts to simplify its supply chain and shelves.

The grocery giant said that “north of 4,000” SKUs had been scrapped from its shops since chair Allan Leighton outlined Asda’s plan to ditch 5,000 to 6,000 lines over the next 12 months in March, The Grocer reported.

The chair said that Asda stocked around 30,000 SKUs and that he wanted to reduce the figure to between 24,000 to 25,000.

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An Asda spokesperson said: “One of the key pillars of our formula for growth is to be ranged in a way that is simple for the customer, removes complexity on our shelves and in our supply chain, and drives volume growth in key lines – growing sales for both Asda and our suppliers.”

The news comes after Asda recently recorded a sales decline ahead of the festive trading period, making it the only major supermarket to experience a revenue drop before Christmas.

The business’s sales fell 4.3% over the 12 weeks to 30 November, Worldpanel data revealed.

Earlier this month, it was also reported that the supermarket was considering a crackdown on sick days as part of its turnaround efforts.