British supermarket group Asda reported a fall in underlying sales in its latest quarter, reflecting a tough comparison with the same period last year when sales were boosted by COVID-19 restrictions that meant more meals were consumed at home.
Asda, owned by Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital, said on Monday like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 0.7% year-on-year in the three months to 30 September, its fiscal third quarter, having also fallen 0.7% in its second quarter.
Like-for-Like Sales
Like-for-like sales were up 2.0% on the same period in 2019, before the pandemic impacted trading.
Total third-quarter revenue was 4.93 billion pounds ($6.56 billion).
Asda has a UK market share of 14.3%, lagging industry leader Tesco and Sainsbury's.
New CEO
on the 24 November, Asda announced it had appointed Stuart Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, as its new chairman, tasking him with leading the board's recruitment of a new chief executive, it said on Tuesday.
Rose, 72, also a former chairman of online supermarket Ocado, will take up the chairman role at Asda on 1 December, the group said.
Britain's Third Largest Grocer
Asda, Britain's third largest grocer after market leader Tesco and Sainsbury's, is owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity group TDR Capital.
The brothers and TDR also own petrol forecourt business EG Group, which is also chaired by Rose.
Asda has been without a CEO since Roger Burnley left the group earlier this year.
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