Asda blasts rivals over ‘gimmicks’

ASDA has launched an extraordinary attack on its rivals, accusing them of sinking to desperate measures.

The supermarket, owned by WalMart of the US, saw a fall in its own third quarter sales growth, leaving it open to accusations of sour grapes.

It said the increasing use of vouchers and promotions by rivals were cheap gimmicks that misled shoppers.

Asda was one of the first to react to fierce competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl by investing £1bn in price reductions last year.

This failed to have the desired effect as underlying sales dropped 1.6pc in the 13 weeks to the end of September, a significant fall from the growth of 0.5pc seen in the second quarter. Andy Clarke, Asda chief executive, said the retail environment was changing fast.

Despite this he declared himself proud of Asda’s performance. He claimed to have outpaced rivals Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons and gained market share.

‘We are pulling away from the other three supermarkets,’ he said. ‘The winners and losers are clear. We see we are a clear winner along with Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose.’ The other supermarkets are using a mix of promotions, vouchers and price- matching schemes to try to woo shoppers. Asda believes its straightforward approach – simply cutting prices – is more effective.

Clarke left it to his chief merchandising officer for food, Barry Williams, to train sights on competitors. He criticised Morrisons for its voucher offering £5 off fresh fruit and vegetables, which he likened to handing out free money to attract customers. He also said that shoppers were feeling misled by price cuts that didn’t materialise.

‘We have the data and we can see this,’ he said. ‘Gimmicks have returned.’