Asda has axed its Aldi and Lidl price match scheme as its boss seeks to make his mark after returning last year.
In one of Allan Leighton’s first major interventions since returning to run the struggling supermarket in November, Asda will no longer cut the price of everyday staples just because the German discount rivals do.
The initiative – which included essentials such as milk, bread and fresh produce – was only launched in January last year.
But it will be replaced by a price scheme, called Rollback, which could be announced as soon as tomorrow.
Leighton, 71, will also relaunch the ‘That’s Asda Price’ slogan in a marketing blitz.
He is trying to stop customers switching to rivals after the group’s market share dropped to a record low of 12.5 per cent.
Experience: Allan Leighton (pictured) was chief exec of Asda from 1996 to 2001, before returning as executive chairman in November
While rivals hailed a bumper Christmas, sales over the critical festive period plunged 5.8 per cent at Asda, according to market research firm Kantar.
Once Britain’s second-biggest supermarket, it has been in the doldrums since brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa joined private equity giant TDR Capital to buy it in a £6.8billion debt-fuelled deal in 2021. Its market share was 14.1 per cent at the time.
Leighton, chief executive of Asda from 1996 to 2001, returned as executive chairman in November after his predecessor Stuart Rose said he was ‘embarrassed’ by its poor performance.
One of Leighton’s priorities is to appoint a full-time chief executive, which Asda has been trying to do for more than three years.
An Asda spokesman said: ‘We’ve started 2025 as we mean to go on by cutting prices on thousands of products and there’s much more to come.’
But retail experts questioned whether lower prices would win back customers.
Industry analyst Nick Bubb said: ‘It needs to go upmarket, not more downmarket.
‘But I think they’re embarrassed by the way the Tesco and Sainsbury loyalty card discounts at the till undercut Asda now and they’re pressing the only button they know how to press.
‘But any fool can cut prices. What they should be doing is developing their own loyalty card scheme.’
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