The boss of the UK\u2019s third biggest supermarket has warned that profits will be \u2018materially reduced\u2019 as it embarks on an investment programme to win back customers from its rivals.<\/p>\n
Allan Leighton, who made a sensational return to Leeds-headquartered Asda last November, vowed to regain customers\u2019 trust but admitted it \u2018will take time\u2019.<\/p>\n
Releasing it FY24 results, Asda reported that in the year to 31 December, total revenue, excluding fuel, was broadly flat at \u00a321.7bn, while like-for-like sales were 3.4% lower.<\/p>\n
Group adjusted EBITDA after rent increased by 5.8% to \u00a31.14bn in 2024.<\/p>\n
Leighton said: \u201cLooking ahead we still have plenty of work to get our business firing on all cylinders again. While regaining customers\u2019 trust will take time, we will undertake a substantive and well backed programme of investment in price, availability and the shopping experience to deliver this. This will materially reduce our profitability this year, which we expect to reverse as our market share recovers and improves over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leighton, who served as the supermarket\u2019s CEO from 1996 to 2000 during which time he revived its fortunes, resulting in the \u00a36.7bn sale to Walmart, recently reintroduced Asda\u2019s iconic rollback price proposition.<\/p>\n
Launched at the end of January, with an average reduction of 25% across 4,000 popular products, Rollback has now been expanded to roughly a quarter of Asda\u2019s entire range.<\/p>\n
Asda will add thousands more products to Rollback at regular intervals during the year as part of its strategic shift to move its entire product range to a new low \u2018Asda Price\u2019 by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
Leighton added: \u201cEveryone is focused on making Asda the number one choice again for busy hard-working families who demand value. This is what\u2019s driving all our actions across pricing, ranging, merchandising and every part of the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing the return of Rollback in January, our price advantage has strengthened and customers\u2019 perceptions of the value we offer is starting to improve. We will move thousands more products to Rollback at regular intervals this year.<\/p>\n
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Boss has vowed to regain customers\u2019 trust but admitted it “will take time”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2125085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47995],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2136307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail","tag-featured-story","tag-top-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n