Asda axes Aldi and Lidl price match promise as new boss seeks to make his mark
Asda axes Aldi and Lidl price match promise as new boss seeks to make his mark
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Asda has axed its Aldi and Lidl price match scheme as its boss seeks to make his mark after returning last year. In one of Allan Leighton’s first major interventions since returning to run the struggling supermarket in November, Asda will no longer cut the price of everyday staples just because the German discount rivals do.
The initiative – which included essentials such as milk, bread and fresh produce – was only launched in January last year. But it will be replaced by a price scheme, called Rollback, which could be announced as soon as tomorrow. Leighton, 71, will also relaunch the ‘That’s Asda Price’ slogan in a marketing blitz.
He is trying to stop customers switching to rivals after the group’s market share dropped to a record low of 12.5 per cent. Experience: Allan Leighton (pictured) was chief exec of Asda from 1996 to 2001, before returning as executive chairman in November.
While rivals hailed a bumper Christmas, sales over the critical festive period plunged 5.8 per cent at Asda, according to market research firm Kantar. Once Britain’s second-biggest supermarket, it has been in the doldrums since brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa joined private equity giant TDR Capital to buy it in a £6.8billion debt-fuelled deal in 2021. Its market share was 14.1 per cent at the time.
Leighton, chief executive of Asda from 1996 to 2001, returned as executive chairman in November after his predecessor Stuart Rose said he was ‘embarrassed’ by its poor performance. One of Leighton’s priorities is to appoint a full-time chief executive, which Asda has been trying to do for more than three years.
