Asda, the UK’s third biggest supermarket, has posted yet another fall in quarterly sales.
The chain, owned by Walmart (NYSE:WMT), reported a 2.8 percent fall in like-for-likes sales in the three months to end of March this year.
“We’re pleased that the momentum of the fourth quarter has continued into the new year with a third consecutive quarter of improvement,” said Sean Clarke, the Asda chief executive.
“We’re delivering more consistently for our customers, particularly in fresh food, service and availability – both in stores and online.
“Participation in our award-winning own brand ranges has increased as we focus on increasing its value and quality and make sure we are offering the right ranges for our customers.
“Despite this progress, we are in no way complacent and there is still much for us to do.”
Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon said: “We’ve made some progress in the UK and the team is executing their plan.
“We are navigating our way back to a position of strength in that highly competitive market. When normalising comp sales for the later Easter and Leap Day, we continued to see sequential improvement in the business, including customer traffic and ticket.”
Last August, the supermarket chain posted its worst sales fall to date of 7.5 percent.
With fierce competition from discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, which have taken the “everyday low pricing” model to its extreme, Asda has found itself lagging behind its rivals. Critics have said that Asda owner Wal-Mart has taken too much money from the UK chain, resulting in falling store standards.
“Asda’s position as the main UK discounter prior to Aldi and Lidl’s arrival, means they will suffer greatest in terms of losses in market share.” said Tom Berry, an associate retail analyst at GlobalData.
In the US, Walmart said it had a “solid first quarter”. Sales reached $117.5 billion, which was in line with analysts’ expectations.