Proactive Investors - Budget supermarket chain Asda has brought in former chief executive and retail industry heavyweight Allan Leighton as its new executive chair to replace outgoing chair Stuart Rose.
Leighton served as chief executive of Asda between 1996 and 2001- just one of many roles in a pack curriculum vitae.
He served as chairman for Lastminute.com and Royal Mail (LON:IDSI) in the early 2000s and as chair of The Co-operative from 2015.
Leighton reportedly received a £3.4 million payoff from jewellery brand Pandora (CSE:PNDORA) when he stepped down as chief executive to take on the Co-op role.
He is also named as chairman at BrewDog, PizzaExpress, Simba Sleep and Wagamama, according to Bloomberg data.
Leighton oversaw the £6.7 billion sale of Asda to US retail goliath Walmart Inc (NYSE:NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) in 1999, in a move that heralded both Walmart’s entrance into the UK and a massive expansion of Asda’s footprint across England.
Asda's declining market share
Asda changed hands to private equity firm TDR Capital and the Issa brothers in 2021.
Since then, Asda has seen a steady decline in its share of the UK grocery market.
Although Asda retained its status as the third-largest supermarket in the UK by volume in Kantar’d latest data print, the gulf between it and FTSE 100 rivals Tesco PLC (OTC:TSCDY) (LSE:TSCO) and J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:LON:SBRY) has widened significantly.
Asda’s market was 12.6%, as of September, having dropped from 14.8% when the Issas and TDR took control of the business.
Outgoing chair Rose has admitted to feeling embarrassed by the chain’s declining reputation under the ownership of Mohsin and Zuber Issa.
It sets the stage for a second potential Leighton-led recovery.
“Asda will benefit enormously from Allan’s experience of leading the business and on behalf of the board I am pleased to welcome him back,” said Rose. “I look forward to continuing to support Asda as a shareholder and customer over the coming years.”
Leighton stated: “Stuart (Rose) has done an important job in helping to create a retailer with a presence in every format and I am delighted to be returning to the business which has always been a special place for me.
“The potential for Asda now is significant, and my focus will be to work with the leadership team to help make Asda special for our colleagues and millions of customers.”