Asda’s Losing Streak Nears End as New CEO Joins UK Grocer

Asda drew more online shoppers with its loyalty program, as the struggling British grocer narrowly missed a return to growth.

Comparable sales excluding fuel slipped 0.1% in the 13 weeks to Sept. 30, the UK’s third-largest supermarket said Friday, close to ending a run of quarterly drops dating back more than two years. Online grocery sales rose 6.9%.

The results will offer some encouragement as new Chief Executive Officer David Potts, who was appointed last week, tries to revive a business that’s lost market share since it was acquired in a highly leveraged buyout in 2021.

Asda faces a highly competitive UK grocery market in which the likes of Tesco Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, and German discounters Aldi and Lidl have eaten into its customer base. Its market share is 11.3%, according to the latest data from market tracker Worldpanel by Numerator, down from 14.3% at the start of 2021.

That was the year Asda was acquired from Walmart Inc. by British billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa alongside private equity firm TDR Capital, which has since become the majority shareholder.

Asda’s debt burden since that deal hindered turnaround efforts, as did a botched IT overhaul related to the separation from Walmart’s systems.

The supermarket chain said its revamped Asda Rewards program has helped attract online customers. Rivals Tesco, with its Clubcard, and Sainsbury’s Nectar program have seen a significant uptick in users in recent years.

Like-for-like sales at Asda’s convenience stores rose 2.7% in the latest period.

Asda said it would focus on offering customers value for money at a time UK household budgets are under pressure from higher prices and mortgage costs.

The latest Asda Income Tracker, a measure of affordability, showed spending power at a six-month low and the lowest-earning households facing an average £76 shortfall on essential bills.

Intense competition has fueled recent speculation about industry consolidation. Asda was the target of a takeover bid by Sainsbury’s that was blocked by regulators in 2019 over concerns it would lead to reduced competition.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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