Asda blames fears around Brexit for its falling sales

ASDA bosses blamed “customer concerns over Brexit” after the supermarket suffered sliding sales over the past three months.

The chain reported a 0.5% decline in like-for-like sales in the quarter to September 30 as it dipped from 0.5% growth in the previous quarter.

Doug McMillon, the boss of Asda owner Walmart, said that Brexit fears “continue to negatively affect customer spending patterns” for the chain.

Asda chief executive and president Roger Burnley added that customers have had “little respite” from political and economic uncertainty in recent months, which has influenced spending.

On Tuesday data from Kantar said Asda saw sales decline by 1.2% in the 12 weeks to November 3.

The big four supermarkets all reported recent declines, according to the data, falling behind rapid growth from German discounter rivals such as Lidl, which saw 8.8% sales growth over the period.

Asda and Sainsbury’s attempted to counteract the competition from the discounters by agreeing a multibillion-pound merger last year.

However, the move collapsed after it was blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority in April.

Mr Burnley said in July that Asda could be floated on the stock market in the next two or three years as Walmart looks to offload the business.

Despite the slump, Asda said it saw “strong” online grocery sales over the period, claiming it was “two times the growth of the overall market”.