ASDA APPOINTS FORMER MORRISONS BOSS DAVID POTTS AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Asda has appointed David Potts as chief executive with immediate effect, the Leeds-based supermarket chain said. Allan Leighton, who has led the business since returning in 2024, becomes non-executive chairman as part of the change. Potts said Asda had "made good progress but significant opportunities remain" to reinvigorate sales, with a focus on keeping prices low for shoppers. He said improvements to the weekly shopping trip would "revitalise the business and bring benefits for all our stakeholders, including our 116,296 very hard-working colleagues."

Potts spent eight years leading Morrisons from its Bradford headquarters until 2023, a period in which the supermarket chain was bought by the US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Before joining Morrisons, he was chief executive of Tesco's Irish business, its UK arm and its Asian operation. Asda's trading was hit last year when an IT system upgrade disrupted product availability, denting sales and affecting its bottom line. In August, Asda reported that sales had returned to growth for the quarter, the first such rise in two years.

Leighton first served as Asda's chief executive more than two decades before his return to the role in 2024. He said Asda had "stabilised the business and returned it to some growth" over the past two years. He said Potts had "an outstanding record in our industry" and that his experience was "exactly what we now require for the next stage of our transformation and beyond". According to Asda, Leighton had planned to step aside from the day-to-day running of the group following his return.