Asda news

The latest release from Kantar, tracking the performance of GB grocery retail over the 12 weeks to 18 April 2021, shows that sector growth slowed to 5.7%, as sales met the tougher comparatives of the early pandemic in 2020 and non-essential retail and the out-of-home sectors began to open from 12 April, beginning the resumption of a more normal competitive retail landscape.  However, Kantar indic...

This weekend news broke that UK-based natural fast food operator Leon has been bought by EG Group in a deal worth between £80m and £100m.   As well as being hugely important for the companies involved, it also marks a step-change in the UK food-to-go market.   So let’s take a look at deal in more detail and examine why it is so significant for the market in general. A quick guide to Leon ...

Asda has announced plans for a major restructuring of its bakery operation that will mean an end to bread and other bakery lines being baked from scratch in-store. The retailer has now launched a consultation with 1,200 staff risk of redundancy across its 341 supermarkets which aims to offer them alternative roles within Asda when possible. Switch to centralised production In future, produc...

The UK is in the process of cautiously easing its COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. The country is currently in stage two, which allows two households or groups of up to six people to socialise in an outdoor setting. With new lockdown measures in place, people are looking to spend more time with their family and friends in outdoor spaces. We explore the impact the easing of lockdown has had on s...

The GB market grew 7.4% in the 12 weeks to 21 March, according to the latest results from Kantar. This period sees the annualisation of retailers’ performance against the record-breaking sales of March 2020, when the country went into its first lockdown. Sales over the most recent four weeks were down 3% versus last year, with shoppers making 117m fewer trips to the supermarket than in March 2020...

Roger Burnley has decided to step down as CEO of Asda next year once the business has transitioned to new ownership and a long-term successor is in place. Though not an unexpected development, the departure of Asda’s highly respected chief executive adds to uncertainty surrounding the business. In this article I look at the challenges facing Asda as its priorities shift under the Issa brothers’ o...

The GB market grew 12.5% in the 12 weeks to 21 February, according to the latest results from Kantar. This period included Christmas and the reintroduction of lockdown restrictions, which drove growth. Strong growth is now expected to slow Sales accelerated further in the last four weeks to +15.1%. This was the fastest rate of growth since June 2020. Market growth is however now expected to...

After the tumultuous year that was 2020, what can we expect in the grocery sector in the year ahead? In this second article I will consider the changes impacting and affecting retailers. Readers can access our first article on trends impacting shoppers here . 4. New wave of store format innovation Across the Big Four we’re seeing a new wave of format innovation centred around compact fo...

Asda has announced plans to transform how it serves online demand  - with a big expansion of its store pick model, the proposed closure of two home shopping centres and a consultation to simplify ways of working across store teams. Responding to a structural shift in demand Providing context for the changes, Asda noted how it has increased online capacity by 90% since last March to 850,000 ...

Asda has confirmed that trading for 2020 finished on a strong note, lifted by particularly rapid growth online. The news follows Tuesday’s announcement the acquisition of the business by the Issa Brothers and TDR Capital has now completed. Pick-up in growth for Q4 and Christmas In the three months to December 31, LFL sales grew by 5.1%, Asda’s fastest rate of any quarter in 2020. For the Ch...