In the wake of continual change to the retail landscape, successful retailing is more than ever like running a marathon, not a sprint.

Last week, Walmart announced its financial earnings for the second quarter of the year and, at the same time, I gave an update on Asda’s performance.

Of course, I was proud to present a positive 0.5% LfL (ex petrol) for the 10 weeks to June 30. In a market where every day there is a new headline about the challenges facing the big supermarkets, Asda is performing strongly. More importantly, the results are a chance to explain how we are delivering on our five-year strategy – and the objectives that we set out more than nine months ago when we first outlined our ambition to redefine value retailing in the UK.

Thinking back to March 2013 when I first talked about our strategic review at the Retail Week conference, and faced head on the discussion about the polarisation of the retail market, the challenges facing the big supermarkets and the fact that if we wanted to stay competitive, we had to change, it did feel a bit like sticking my head above the parapet. And, since that day, Asda has consistently been the first to deal with some challenging decisions and exciting opportunities – be it launching our five-year strategy, our work to make our organisational structures fit for the future, or our omnichannel ‘firsts’.

I remain convinced that spotting the challenges in our sector in 2012, and taking action in 2013 to address them, were absolutely the right thing for our business and our customers. And I know that my team and I remain focused on continuing to deliver that strategy with agility and pace over the next five years.

That said, it would be wrong of me to say that I have a final plan in my desk drawer with all the answers definitively mapped out. The only constant in this industry is change. While we have a clear view of where we are going, along with it comes a willingness to adapt and evolve our ideas to make sure we get there in the best shape possible.

While the pace of change that we are experiencing in the sector at the moment is the most pronounced I have seen – and it would be easy to give a knee-jerk reaction to every headline and new offer – equally, I know that running your business based solely on the highs and lows of a quarter is a recipe for disaster. Despite positive indicators, the economy is far from recovered. Although people are starting to feel more optimistic, this outlook is still not being consistently played out in month-to-month spending, or across all regions.

With all that in mind, we continue to focus on running a marathon, not an overnight sprint. We won’t praise ourselves too highly for a fast lap, or berate ourselves too heavily for a stumble along the way. And while it’s one of the fastest-paced races in our history, our focus will remain on long-term, sustainable delivery – and that is a strategy that I believe will win.

  • Andy Clarke is chief executive of Asda.