Asda in ‘foothills of recovery’ as grocer returns to growth
Asda has posted sales growth for the first time in more than two years, marking a “major milestone” in the turnaround led by Allan Leighton on his comeback at the grocer. The discount supermarket saw like-for-like sales excluding fuel grow by 0.2 per cent in the seven weeks to mid-August. Like-for-like food sales jumped by [...]
Asda has returned to growth for the first time in over two years, signaling a major milestone in the turnaround led by its new chairman, Allan Leighton. The discount supermarket experienced a 0.2% increase in like-for-like sales excluding fuel and a 0.7% rise in like-for-like food sales over the seven weeks ending mid-August. Despite significant market share losses due to competition from Aldi and Lidl, Asda's progress is described as "encouraging" by Leighton, who has overseen the company's resurgence following its £6.7bn sale to Walmart.
However, Asda remains "in the foothills of recovery" and acknowledges the need for further improvement. The grocer's sales figures for the second quarter of 2026 showed a 2.3% decline in like-for-like sales and a 1.9% drop in food sales, with total revenue increasing by 0.4% to £6.5bn. Asda's market share has steadied at 11.5%, behind Morrisons in recent months.
The company is facing challenges from fragile consumer confidence, exacerbated by geopolitical and economic factors. Asda plans to pilot a partnership with Ocado for home delivery and roll out a collaboration with Amazon Ad Services later this year, aiming to enhance the online shopping experience for customers.
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- Asda returns to growth after more than two years theguardian.com
