Asda sales boosted by demand for premium products

Asda, which has been acquired by EG Group and TDR Capital in October, said its Christmas performance driven by strong demand for premium ranges, as customers ‘trade up’ and treat themselves after a difficult year. Demand for Asda’s premium Extra Special lines increased “significantly”, particularly in the meat, fish and poultry categories, with sales in December up by 30% year-on-year.

In addition, the supermarket continued to see strong online growth during the quarter, with combined net sales for Asda.com and George.com increasing by 76% year-on-year. This comes after Asda increased its home shopping capacity by 90% to 850,000 weekly slots between March and December 2020.

Roger Burnley, Asda chief executive and president, said: “Our focus on keeping prices low, providing great quality products and keeping customers safe when they visit our stores were key to delivering a strong performance across the quarter and particularly during the busy Christmas period.

“The festive season was like no other and I am proud of the way Asda colleagues responded to the exceptional circumstances they faced.”

The supermarket also opened the first two compact B&Q stores opening inside its Sheffield and Dagenham stores during the quarter and extended its partnerships with MusicMagpie, Claire’s Accessories, and Decathlon to further stores across its estate.