Asda boss falls on his sword as grocers fight discount war

ASDA boss Andy Clarke became the final boss of a supermarket to fall on his sword as the big High Street names wage a fierce price war.

Clarke, 53, has confirmed he is preparing to step down just ten months after proclaiming he was ‘here to stay’.

The embattled supermarket boss has struggled to kick start growth at Britain’s second largest grocer which, like its rivals, has faced competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl.

His departure means all the major grocers have changed their bosses in the wake of the turmoil sweeping the industry.

He recruited Roger Burnley, a former Asda supply chain director, from Sainsbury’s last year, and has anointed him his successor.

Clarke told Retail Week magazine: ‘I said that I wanted to find somebody who had the ability to be my successor and it took us some time to find the right person, the right cultural fit, the right sort of character and leader that can run the business.’

Clarke refused to say when he would step down other than: ‘I’m in no rush to do anything else and we are on a three-year journey from a strategic plan perspective. I’m very happy to deliver that and work through that and then we can talk about that from there.’

Over the weekend bosses of America’s Walmart, which owns Asda, admitted they have no idea how long it will take to turnaround the chain.

Dave Cheesewright, president and chief executive of Walmart International, used the retailer’s annual meeting in America to speak frankly about the performance.

He said: ‘There’s lots of work going on there [at Asda] but we are pretty dissatisfied with performance at the moment.

‘So watch this space on Asda, but it will be painful, I think, probably through this year.’

Asda used to set itself apart from rivals on price but has lost the lead on this to the discount chains. In August Clarke emphasised he had no plans to leave.

‘I want to silence a bit of speculation,’ he said at the time. ‘I have never seen so much controversy about if Clarke is staying or going. I’m here to stay.’