Asda’s struggles were thrust back into the spotlight today when it racked up another unwelcome record.

The embattled grocer’s 1.8% drop in sales during the 12 weeks ending March 26, as measured by Kantar Worldpanel, means it has been in decline since November 2014 –  the longest run of sales decay Asda has ever suffered.

If boss Sean Clarke were under any illusions as to the size of the task at hand when he was parachuted back to Asda by his Walmart paymasters following a near 20-year absence last June, today’s industry figures would have offered a wake-up call.

Clarke, though, hasn’t returned to the fiercely competitive UK market wearing blinkers, thinking it would be a cake-walk.

“Clarke has surrounded himself with the right team to get results – deputy chief executive Roger Burnley, chief customer officer Andy Murray and supermarkets boss Chris Walker to name but three”

He’s certainly no Pep Guardiola – the Manchester City manager who picked up trophies galore at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and perhaps expected to do the same on these shores, only to find success much harder to come by in the Northwest of England.

Clarke may have experienced a comparable culture shock, having moved from the UK to Walmart’s Chinese business, but it is one he would have been expecting.

Like Guardiola, Clarke has surrounded himself with the right team to get results – deputy chief executive Roger Burnley, chief customer officer Andy Murray and supermarkets boss Chris Walker to name but three.

Tackling Asda’s problems

Even with those additions to the senior team, Clarke knew Asda’s well-documented problems would take plenty of time, effort and investment to resolve.

Long before his return to Leeds last year, the rug had been pulled, rather unceremoniously, from under the grocer’s feet on price.

The ‘every day low price’ model, which had for so long been its unique selling point, was no longer distinctive, thanks to the discounters.

Quality had dipped below par as Aldi, Lidl, its big four rivals and convenience specialists all ploughed cash into improving their propositions, leaving Asda in the shade in the process.

Customer service had suffered in the wake of a deep cost-cutting programme that took too many pairs of hands off the shop floor.

And availability also faltered as gaps on shelves, particularly within fresh and frozen, became commonplace.

There is undoubtedly still an awful lot of work to do to right those wrongs – and the extension of that unwanted Kantar run only serves to highlight the depths Asda had plummeted to when opting to protect the bottom line at the expense of sustainable top-line growth.

But the supermarket giant is slowly scaling that steepest of mountains.

Green shoots

At its last quarterly results, the green shoots of Asda’s recovery plan started to sprout.

Like-for-likes in the period ending January 27 dropped 2.9%, its best result for some time – although that was admittedly against the comparable of a miserable 5.8% slump the prior year.

Owner Walmart, outwardly critical of Asda’s performance at its shareholders week in Arkansas a year ago, is changing its tune.

“Clarke’s early work in sharpening prices, revitalising ranges and improving customer service wooed some 140,000 customers back to Asda during the golden quarter”

While admitting Asda’s sales remain “under pressure”, the US titan has hailed “early signs of improvement in the customer value proposition”.

Indeed, Clarke’s early work in sharpening prices, revitalising ranges and improving customer service wooed some 140,000 customers back to Asda during the golden quarter.

If that steady rate of progress can be maintained, it won’t be long before Asda’s barren run comes to an end.