Asda turnaround king Allan Leighton hopes for summer boost
Allan Leighton, the turnaround expert charged with leading Asda’s resurgence, has been known for his showmanship. During his first stint at Asda in the 90s, he kicked off an annual managers’ conference by revving into the auditorium on a Harley-Davidson motorbike. It was this reputation for bold, eye-catching leadership which prompted struggling discount retailer Asda [...]
Allan Leighton, a turnaround expert who led Asda's resurgence, is optimistic about a potential summer boost for the struggling discount retailer. Leighton, now 73, previously revived Asda in the 1990s with his showmanship, including riding a Harley-Davidson into the auditorium during a managers' conference. The grocer's latest trading update revealed a £989m pre-tax loss for the year to December 2025 and a 3.6% decrease in revenue to £25.9bn.
Asda has been shedding jobs and cutting costs as it tries to halt its market share decline. Despite a net debt reduction from £4.1bn to £3.5bn, the business still carries a significant debt burden. Leighton joined Asda in 1992 and later became chief executive, orchestrating the company's turnaround before selling it to Walmart for £6.9bn in 2000.
He returned to Asda in November 2024. Leighton attributes Asda's recent progress to improvements in pricing and availability, particularly in its own-brand clothing line, George, which has seen strong sales growth. Asda hopes to capitalize on a busy summer, with factors like heatwaves and the FIFA World Cup potentially boosting other major retailers.
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
