Asda records ninth consecutive quarterly sales drop
Asda has reported yet another sizeable drop in sales.
The struggling retailer has posted a like-for-like sales drop of 5.8 per cent in the three months to the end of September.
This is the the ninth quarterly fall in sales in a row for the company which is suffering due to intense price competition from discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl.
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The retailer has made some improvement, however. In the previous quarter, Asda's sales fell by 7.5 per cent.
Phil Dorrell, partner at Retail Remedy, said that the company's decision to skip Black Friday was "the right decision", given the pressure that the retailer is currently under.
"Given today's results Asda will be praying for a 'Christmas Made Better'," he said.
"Sales performance behind competitors and slumping market share are no way to head into the golden Christmas quarter. By now Asda had promised a turn in fortunes thanks to Project Renewal, however an inward looking retailer will get the same results it's always had.
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"Steering clear of Black Friday again is the right decision, bringing focus on good value through everyday prices suiting the demographic rather than getting drawn into what has become a fortnight of margin erosion and bringing sales forward."
Brett Biggs, chief executive of Walmart, which owns Asda, said: "The key priority remains driving an improved customer experience and building sales momentum by simplifying the offer, improving product availability and making strategic investments in service and price."
Discounters are increasingly moving in on Asda's territory; the retailer sits at the bottom end of the market, and is threatened by Aldi, which has ambitions to gobble up 10 per cent of the grocery market as a whole.