Asda brings back industry veteran Leighton as chair

Asda brought back retail industry veteran Allan Leighton as its executive chair on Saturday, replacing Stuart Rose at Britain’s third largest supermarket.

Rose will remain on the board to ensure an orderly transition before stepping down, the company, majority owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, said in a statement.

In addition to holding the CEO position at Asda from 1996 to 2001, Leighton has also led a number of UK and international consumer businesses, including Canadian retail group Loblaw Companies and Britain’s Co-op.

“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,” Leighton said.

Earlier this month the company reported a drop in quarterly sales and warned of a £100m hit from the government’s latest budget, with Rose saying Asda had “lost the plot” but reassuring that it could be fixed.

The shareholder group added that it had invested £3.8bn in Asda over the last three years, allowing the supermarket to almost double its store footprint from 623 to 1,200 stores.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside the Asda team over the past three years and to support the business through this period of transition,” added Rose.

“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. I look forward to continuing to support Asda as a shareholder and customer over the coming years.”

Reporting by Muvija M, Reuters