Asda invests extra £100m in price cuts as it battles discounters

The grocer will bring forward the monies from the £1.25bn pot it has set aside to invest in price and quality over five years as part of boss Andy Clarke’s plan to ‘redefine value retailing’.

Following the investment, Asda will lower prices across branded and own-label lines lowered in price at all of the retailer’s 576 UK stores. 

The grocer is attempting to counter a raft of trends putting pressure on prices including burdens on disposable income and the growth of discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Asda said it hopes the move will “further increase the retailer’s price gap to the rest of the big four as well as help close Asda’s gap to discounters, like Aldi and Lidl, which has already been reduced by half in the last 12 months”.

Asda chief merchandising officer for food Barry Williams said: “We’ve seen a seismic shift in the retail market over the last quarter and customers are more demanding than ever in their expectations around price and quality.

“We’re primed and ready to meet those expectations and this is a real investment in price that will see thousands of products in our stores made even more affordable for our customers.”