Asda, Other U.K. Grocery Chains, Struggle To Compete With Discounters

Asda CEO Andy Clarke advises Dave Lewis, new head of supermarket rival Tesco, to wean the company off discount vouchers. Tesco’s sales have increased through the use of vouchers, which Clarke calls “quantitative easing”, a solution that can only work for so long. Asda has switched from vouchers to straight price cuts. In addition, the company is revamping stores to try to win market share from competitor retailers, and to dampen the impact of discounters Aldi and Lidl. Asda will be devoting more store space to fresh food, hot food and health and beauty products, and much less space to goods now bought mostly online, like televisions, DVDs and CDs.