Asda chair Lord Stuart Rose has expressed that he feels “embarrassed” by the supermarket giant’s decline in market share and has urged co-owner Mohsin Issa to step back from the daily operations of the retailer.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you. Having been in this industry for a long time, I feel somewhat embarrassed. I won’t deny it,” Rose told The Telegraph in an interview. “I dislike being in second, third, or fourth place.
“And if you examine the current Kantar numbers or any other index, we’re not performing as well as we should. I find that unacceptable.”
Rose’s remarks follow Asda’s report of a 2.2% decline in quarterly sales and a 5.3% drop in like-for-like sales last week. The retailer’s market share has also decreased from 13.6% to 12.7%, losing ground to competitors such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and discount retailers, according to Kantar data.
Rose also suggested that Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa step back from day-to-day operations as the supermarket aims to improve its struggling performance.
“I would not advise him to get involved in operations, and I am the chairman,” he said.
We’ve always maintained that Mohsin was a certain horse for a specific course. He is an agitator, an entrepreneur, and a disruptor. It requires a different beast now that we’ve made many changes and added a sizable number of stores. To put it politely, Mohsin’s work is almost finished.
TDR Capital, a private equity group, owns 67.5% of Asda, while Mohsin Issa owns the remaining 22.5%. Mohsin’s brother Zuber Issa surrendered his 22.5% ownership in the company earlier this year in order to concentrate on his other ventures.
The American retail behemoth Walmart, which still owns 10% of Asda, formerly owned the grocery chain.
In 2021, the brothers paid £6.8 billion to TDR Capital to acquire Asda.
Asda’s chief financial officer, Michael Gleeson, unveiled the company’s ambitions to improve its store estate, increase staff hours to expedite shelf replenishment, and foster consumer loyalty last week.