Blog: A new era for Asda

We’ve seen Tesco boss Phil Clarke outline his strategy over the past year and now it’s the turn of Asda’s chief Andy Clarke.

As Retail Week exclusively revealed today, Asda has drafted in consultants McKinsey to draw up a new five-year strategy.

The strategy will eclipse the five-year plan that former Asda boss Andy Bond set out three years ago, and aims to reflect the changing landscape.

When Bond set out his strategy, many criticised some of the targets. Opening 150 new Living stores seemed crazy at a time when a lot of non-food shopping was moving online.

Bond did want to create a “world class dotcom operation” which is an ambition that is likely to still resonate. As Clarke is likely to outline in his new strategy, online and indeed multichannel will surely be a key part of future growth.

McKinsey’s review is likely to look at Asda’s USP - its Every Day Low Prices proposition. Bond hailed a return to EDLP and said that the grocer had gone too promotional. At the time that was the right strategy.

But some believe that Asda is a one trick pony with price and while this will always remain core to the business, it needs other strings to its bow. Perhaps this is what McKinsey will look into.

And as we are in the midst of the horse meat scandal where customers are looking twice at cheap products, it’s not a bad thing that Asda explores other options.