Sales at former UK Netto stores converted to Asda’s supermarket format have jumped 45% since the takeover of the business, Asda CEO Andy Clarke has said.
Speaking at the annual IGD Convention in London yesterday (11 October), Clarke also claimed that Asda, the UK’s second-largest retailer, now has the fastest growing own-label brand of the country’s major retailers.
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“In a year where we continued to focus on price,” he told journalists on the fringes of the event, “we now have the fastest growing own-label brand.”
He said Asda’s Chosen by You own-label range now accounted for 40% of the chain’s food sales and claimed that, for the first time in its history, the retailer’s share of the private-label category was ahead of Sainsbury’s.
Asda announced the launch of the Chosen By You range last year after it revamped its standard own-label food and drink range under the brand name.
In September, Asda said it had developed a specific Chosen By You own-label range for its Scottish stores.
The range comprises 22 lines including Scotch Pies, Pineapple Tarts, Strawberry Tarts and a Scottish Plain Loaf. Asda said the products have been tried, tasted and approved by over 1,200 Scottish shoppers.
In a filing with Companies House last week, Asda, which is owned by Wal-Mart Stores, revealed that its revenues were up 3.6% to GBP20.55bn (US$32.03bn) in 2010, with like-for-like sales, excluding petrol and VAT, increasing 0.6%.
However, Asda reported a fall in profits due to higher share option costs and an increase in royalty payments to Wal-Mart.
