Asda slumps to a £600m loss as it struggles to cope with its mounting debts
The beleaguered supermarket, whose George at Asda fashion range is modelled by Yasmin Le Bon, fell into the red after a £180million profit the year before. It has a mounting debt pile, and said an expensive IT overhaul had been difficult.
Sales slipped 3.4 per cent – news that came the same day as industry data showed its market share fell year-on-year to 11.5 per cent for the quarter to June 14, from 12.4 per cent.
Executive chairman Leighton, 72, last month insisted his efforts were seeing 'green shoots' after the grocer cut the price of thousands of products and improved stocks.
He said: 'Market share today means nothing to me. We're in a turnaround situation, restoring a business to an enduring proposition.'
Asda is aiming to be 7 to 10 per cent cheaper than rivals within a year.
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