Asda Sales Fall 0.5% in 12 Weeks to November as Market Share Slips to 11.3%

Asda's sales fell 0.5% year-on-year to £4 billion in the 12 weeks to November 1, making it the only major UK grocer to record a decline, CityAM reported. The supermarket's grocery market share slipped from 11.6% to 11.3% over the same period, according to Worldpanel.

Asda's Sales Slip as Rivals Grow

Customer demand rose at every one of Asda's competitors, including a 6.6% increase at Lidl and a 2% rise at Morrisons. Iceland was the only other chain with flat returns. Lidl's market share grew by 0.4 percentage points to 8.6%, the biggest gain of any UK grocer, while Ocado posted its 30th consecutive period of double-digit growth, with sales up 12.3% to £822m and a record 2.3% share.

The decline follows a 0.2% uplift in like-for-like revenue excluding fuel in the seven weeks to mid-August, Asda's first positive sales figures in more than two years. Allan Leighton, who had returned to lead the turnaround and said the grocer was in the "foothills of recovery", stepped back to a non-executive role last week with immediate effect. David Potts, the former Morrisons chief executive, took over as chief executive. Potts said: "The business has made good progress but significant opportunities remain and I'm delighted and very proud to have been asked by Allan to lead the team." Leighton said Potts's experience is "exactly what we now require for the next stage of our transformation".

Asda, owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, fell to a £989m pre-tax loss in 2025, though net debt fell by £500m to £3.1 billion.

Asda's Store Network and Online Partnerships

Asda operates nearly 1,100 stores and fulfils more than 700,000 online orders each week, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show total sales of £25.9 billion, down 3.3% in 2025, with sales excluding fuel at £21 billion, and a UK market share of 11.5%, against 14.3% before the 2021 private equity takeover. Asda partnered with Ocado Group in May 2026 to deploy Smart Platform technology across its online operation from the first quarter of 2027, and with Amazon Ads in June 2026 to introduce Amazon Retail Ad Service from the fourth quarter of 2026.

Asda's Leadership Change and Earlier Moves

CityAM reported on November 3, 2026 that Asda appointed David Potts as chief executive, with Allan Leighton stepping down as chairman. Thegrocer reported on November 3, 2026 that Subway and Asda would add up to 70 new UK restaurants over four years, increasing Subway's presence in Asda stores by more than 50%. Thegrocer reported on November 4, 2026 that Asda joined a financial education alliance launched by Stream, targeting more than 180,000 employees.

Asda's 2027 Fulfilment Hub

Asda's partnership with DHL Supply Chain will consolidate George online clothing fulfilment at a revamped shared-user ecommerce centre in Derby, the George AutoStore Hub, with Asda as anchor customer. The site is expected to go live in 2027, with about 1,000 jobs displaced.