Since the buyout, Asda has been struggling with falling sales and profits as well as a huge debt pile, while paying out close to \u00a31bn to revamp its IT systems. Leighton returned to help turn around the business<\/a> for the second time in his career in November 2024 after a 20-year absence.<\/p>\n Allan Leighton embraces World Cup fever. He said growth had been led by food, sales of which were up 0.7% at established stores during a seven-week period. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Despite inflation on groceries in the UK, Asda\u2019s sales had been falling as the problems with its technology meant it struggled to keep shelves stocked, while it also faced heavy competition from the cut-price chains Aldi and Lidl as well as from bigger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury\u2019s.<\/p>\n Aldi is less than one percentage point behind Asda in terms of market share and continues to grow at a faster pace, threatening to steal its rival\u2019s spot as the UK\u2019s third-largest chain.<\/p>\n Leighton has said it is not inevitable<\/a> that Aldi will leapfrog Asda, as the bigger chain is fighting back with measures including a deal with the online specialist Ocado to provide technology to improve its website<\/a> and delivery systems from next year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is some momentum in the business and it is upwards and that is important,\u201d Leighton told the Guardian. He had \u201cnever felt not confident\u201d and Asda could be revamped as \u201cthe business is too good not to be turned around\u201d.<\/p>\n He said growth had been led by food, sales of which were up 0.7% at established stores during the seven-week period. Sales of clothing and other non-food products fell as, Leighton said, the wider market was tough, and the late August bank holiday had delayed shoppers\u2019 spending on back to school items.<\/p>\n Inflation on food is appearing in some areas of produce, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, as the hot dry summer hit crops, but Leighton said Asda was managing stocks and pricing of petrol well despite high fuel prices<\/a> linked to the war in Iran. \u201cProduce is the pinch point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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