U.K. supermarket chain Asda saw a record decline in sales during the second quarter, illustrating the scale of the task facing new Chief Executive Officer Sean Clarke.
Same-store sales tumbled 7.5 percent, excluding gasoline, as the grocer continued to lose ground to discounters and its main competitors. The U.K. market continues to be characterized by “fierce competition and food deflation,” Brett Biggs, chief financial officer of U.S. parent company Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said in a statement Thursday.
Clarke, the former head of Wal-Mart’s China unit who replaced Andy Clarke as CEO last month, faces a tough task to revive the supermarket chain after eight successive quarters of declining same-store sales. Asda has committed to cut prices by 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) over five years as it seeks to cut the gap with discounters Aldi and Lidl.
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