{
  "id": 3972514,
  "title": "Asda in ‘foothills of recovery’ as grocer returns to growth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/asda-in-foothills-of-recovery-as-grocer-returns-to-growth",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-28T13:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/asda-in-foothills-of-recovery-as-grocer-returns-to-growth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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 [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Guardian Business",
        "title": "Asda returns to growth after more than two years",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/asda-returns-to-growth-after-more-than-two-years",
        "published": "2026-08-28T13:00:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}