Allan Leighton, the veteran turnaround specialist charged with reviving Asda, has never been shy of a spectacle. During his first spell at the supermarket in the 1990s, he once opened an annual managers' conference by revving into the auditorium on a Harley-Davidson motorbike.

It was precisely that reputation for bold, eye-catching leadership that prompted the struggling grocer to call on Leighton to halt its market share landslide. Now 73, he may have put the Harley-Davidson and the leather cladding behind him, but the boardroom veteran will be hoping to deliver convincing evidence of progress when Asda publishes its latest trading update on Friday.

The numbers arrive only a few weeks after the grocer posted a £989m pre-tax loss for the year to December 2025, with revenue edging down 3.6 per cent to £25.9bn. Asda has been cutting jobs across multiple departments — most recently at its head office in Leeds — as it attempts to slash costs and stop the erosion of its market share.

The supermarket, which is owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, has also been weighed down by a huge debt pile in recent years — largely a legacy of the £6.8bn buyout in 2021, when TDR and the Issa brothers, the petrol-forecourt entrepreneurs behind EG Group, bought the chain from Walmart. Its most recent accounts show net debt falling from £4.1bn to £3.5bn over the past year, though that remains a significant burden on the business.

Leighton first joined Asda in 1992, poached by its then chief executive — and current Marks & Spencer chairman — Archie Norman to lead the marketing department. He became chief executive four years later and orchestrated the grocer's turnaround and its eventual sale to US retail titan Walmart for a jaw-dropping £6.9bn.

Aldi and Lidl bring fresh competition

In 2000, Leighton quit Asda to "go plural" — a phrase he coined for taking on part-time directorships at several companies rather than focusing his efforts on a single firm. He went on to hold roles at Royal Mail, Leeds United, Pandora and the Co-op before returning in November 2024 to lead another Asda turnaround as executive chairman, taking over day-to-day leadership after co-owner Mohsin Issa stepped back from running the business.

He came back to a grocer in a far different state — and facing a much-changed market. In recent decades Asda has been assailed by the meteoric rise of German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which mounted a serious challenge to the green-liveried grocer's monopoly on low prices.

"It was a very one-dimensional market back then. Before we had online shopping, before we had smartphones," says Ged Futter, a former Asda buyer who now trains suppliers to negotiate with supermarkets. "It was very much about the monthly shop, so it was a very different way of shopping.

"Back then, Asda was the price leader for retailers. Aldi and Lidl didn't really exist, in terms of having any kind of impact at all."

Leighton is now fighting to restore Asda's reputation for low prices at a time when the German rivals have set a new standard for discounting. Even Tesco and Sainsbury's, whose market shares appear unassailable, have been piling more products onto their Aldi price-match ranges.

"15 years ago, Asda took their eye off the ball when it came down to price, and they focused on the business, focused on profit, and that then allowed Aldi to own price," Futter adds. "There's a reason why Tesco started off with Aldi price-match, because they know that Aldi own price. That's what happened 15 years ago, and nothing's changed."

Leighton hails signs of turnaround

Asda, however, says Leighton's turnaround is beginning to bear fruit. A spokesperson for the supermarket pointed to recent Worldpanel data putting its market share at an unchanged 11.5 per cent, while sales dipped by 0.2 per cent in the year to August. That share keeps Asda third in the UK grocery rankings, behind Tesco and Sainsbury's and ahead of Aldi, whose rise reshaped the market.

"This is Asda's strongest performance since March 2024 and provides further evidence that the business is moving in the right direction," they said.

At the grocer's last trading update in March, Leighton said his plans were on track. "We have that momentum and a strong balance sheet to allow us to push forward.

"As we enter the second year of our turnaround, we have an improved customer offer, stable core systems, a strengthened balance sheet and a strong leadership team to deliver our formula for growth."

Leighton said the group had notched 1.2 per cent sales growth in March, overturning months of declines, which he attributed to "progress in key areas" including pricing and availability. Those gains followed a £1bn investment in cutting prices announced early in his comeback, alongside a convenience drive that has converted former Co-op shops and EG forecourts into Asda Express stores.

The discount supermarket will hope to prove that this modest progress was accelerated by a busy summer for British shoppers, during which multiple heatwaves and the FIFA World Cup have boosted other major retailers.

Competing on low prices is as difficult as it has ever been. Morrisons, another private-equity owned grocer facing a hefty debt pile, announced earlier this week that it would match its five major competitors on the prices of 500 everyday products, including fish, bread and vegetables.

'Leadership is everything'

Richard Hyman, an independent retail analyst, said: "I'm not suggesting that there are any forgiving sectors of retailing, but food is a really difficult market. Those players are all very, very good at what they do."

Asda is hoping its buoyant non-food lines can lift its pursuit of rivals. Clothes retailing in particular is a bright spot, Hyman says: George, the grocer's own-brand fashion range, has been a "phenomenal success over the recent years."

The supermarket's non-food revenue has accounted for about 14 per cent of its overall turnover in recent years.

Liz Evans, who had led George since 2022, announced her departure from the group in June. "Liz was outstanding to be able to deliver the numbers she did for George, given that their footfall is food-driven. […] Leadership is everything in all businesses, and especially in retailing," Hyman said.

Asda will be hoping so, as it looks to comeback king Leighton to take the grocer back to its 1990s heyday — albeit without the Harley-Davidson — with Friday's update setting the tone for a second year that runs into the crucial Christmas trading period.

"Asda is much more than a supermarket," the spokesperson said. "Nearly half of our revenue comes from non-food areas, including fuel, George clothing, pharmacy and optical services. This sets us apart from the discounters and gives consumers compelling reasons to shop with Asda."