Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.92
    +1.57 (+1.93%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,239.50
    +26.80 (+1.21%)
     
  • DOW

    39,774.60
    +14.52 (+0.04%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,971.05
    +1,275.35 (+2.33%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    16,384.36
    -15.17 (-0.09%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,338.05
    +12.12 (+0.28%)
     

Asda Poaches Sainsbury's Exec Amid Grocer War

Asda will announce on Tuesday that it has poached one of rival Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's top executives amid an intensifying UK supermarket price war.

Sky News has learnt that Roger Burnley, Sainsbury's retail and operations director, is to join its competitor as its new chief operating officer.

The move will place Mr Burnley among the leading candidates to succeed Andy Clarke, Asda's chief executive, when he steps down from the role.

Mr Burnley's appointment will come just weeks after Asda reported its worst-ever quarterly performance, with sales from stores open for at least a year falling 4.7% in the 11 weeks to 30 June.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr Clarke's future has been the subject of frequent speculation, although he has publicly insisted that he is "here to stay".

Senior Wal-Mart executives have been increasingly visible at Asda's Leeds headquarters in recent months as they take a close interest in efforts to improve the performance of the company.

His departure from Sainsbury's will come as a blow to Mike Coupe, who took over as Sainsbury's chief executive last year and who has also been battling to contend with the structural changes taking place in the British food retailing sector.

Intensifying competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl has had a substantial impact on the quartet of chains which dominate the industry: Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) .

Last week, Tesco reported a slump in half-year profits , with new chief executive Dave Lewis acknowledging that it would be a long haul to transform the company's fortunes.

In recent days, Tesco has unveiled a new scheme aimed at tempting shoppers from rivals by offering to match their prices even when products are on promotion.

Asda and Sainsbury's declined to comment on Mr Burnley's move.