Asda’s turnaround has suffered another setback after it emerged as the only major UK grocer to report falling sales in the latest market figures.
The retailer recorded £4bn in sales during the 12 weeks to 1 November, down 0.5 per cent year on year, according to Worldpanel by Numerator data reported by City AM.
Its share of the grocery market also slipped from 11.6 per cent to 11.3 per cent over the period.
Asda’s rival supermarkets continue to attract shoppers, with Lidl reporting a 6.6 per cent increase in sales and Morrisons posting growth of two per cent.
Online grocer Ocado also recorded a 12.3 per cent jump in sales, taking its market share to a record 2.3 per cent.
The figures mark a setback for Asda, which had shown signs of recovery over the summer after reporting its first underlying sales growth in more than two years.
In August, the supermarket posted a 0.2 per cent increase in like-for-like sales excluding fuel during the seven weeks to 18 August, which then-executive chairman Allan Leighton described as a ‘major milestone’ in its turnaround.
However, the latest figures suggest that Asda is struggling to maintain that momentum as competition intensifies across the grocery sector.
The update comes just days after Asda appointed former Morrisons boss David Potts as its new group chief executive, with Leighton stepping back into a non-executive chairman role.
Potts has been tasked with accelerating the supermarket’s recovery under its Formula for Growth strategy, which focuses on improving prices, product availability and the overall customer experience.
As Retail Gazette previously reported, Asda’s turnaround has been complicated by falling sales, mounting financial pressures and the disruption caused by its £1bn-plus separation from Walmart’s legacy IT systems.
Asda has also been investing in technology to strengthen its position, including a partnership with Ocado to overhaul its online grocery operations from 2027.
However, with market share continuing to decline, the latest figures show the scale of the challenge facing Potts as he aims to restore growth and win back customers from Asda’s rivals.
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