Asda sales plunge 7.5% – its worst quarterly performance on record

Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon blamed fierce competition for the 7.5% sales decline in the three months to June 30

Asda and its rivals Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s have struggled to compete with German discounters Aldi and Lidl (iStock)

Asda has reported its worst quarterly performance on record on Thursday, blaming the price war between UK supermarkets for the fall.

The struggling supermarket chain, owned by US giant Walmart, said sales fell by an eye-watering 7.5 per cent in the three months to June 30.

The results represent the eighth consecutive quarter of sliding sales and compare to a 5.7 per cent slump seen in the previous quarter.

“In the UK, the competitive environment and food deflation continued to challenge the market, significantly impacting traffic and comp sales,” Doug McMillon, Walmart's chief executive, said.

The figures underline the challenge facing Sean Clarke, Asda’s new chief executive, who was appointed in July.

Asda and its rivals Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s have struggled to compete with German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which now have a combined 10 per cent of the UK market share.

The ongoing price war has seen supermarket prices fall for more than a year.

Asda has attempted to fight back with a £1.5bn investment in price cuts over five years, but the supermarket’s efforts are yet to bear fruit.

McMillon insisted the US retail giant was “addressing this with urgency” but warned the turnaround would “take time”.

“While our turn-around will take time, I’m confident in the new leadership team there and want to assure you we’re addressing this with urgency,” he said.

Asda has been the worst performer of the UK’s big four supermarkets, losing customer traffic and food volume in its large format stores.

In January, Asda announced it would cut hundreds of UK jobs, mainly affecting its head office in Leeds, which employs 3,000 people.

Despite Asda's woes in the UK, Walmart said like-for-like sales at its US stores rose by a better-than-expected 1.6 per cent, excluding fuel.