Why is Asda slipping against its supermarket rivals?
US retail giant Wal-Mart, owner of Asda since 1999, has revealed that its British offshoot recently missed its sales and profits targets for a third successive quarter. Oh dear. Wal-Mart’s aim of establishing Asda as the leader of the UK supermarket pack is beginning to look like pie in the sky. Tesco leads the field by a considerable margin, but now Asda looks set to lose its number two position to a resurgent Sainsbury.And let’s not forget that Asda has been losing market share at a time when another competitor, Morrison, has been struggling to integrate Safeway. If Asda can’t cut it when Morrison is on its back, how will it fare when it is in better shape, and snapping at Asda’s heels? But is there more to Asda’s problems than meets the eye? I refer to its ownership by a very demanding parent, Wal-Mart. Asda has lost too many senior managers since Wal-Mart acquired the company seven years ago. Turmoil at the top of Asda is not good for morale and at some point has an effect on perfo
