Leeds-based supermarket giant Asda reported a 2.2% decline in total second-quarter revenue, excluding fuel, to £5.3 billion, with like-for-like sales down 5.3%.

Total George-branded clothing sales decreased 3.9% on a like-for-like basis, partly reflecting Asda’s decision not to participate in significant promotional activity across the fashion sector.

Asda said it had recorded a record start to its back-to-school campaign with store sales up 88% compared with last year in the first two weeks of the campaign. 

Mohsin Issa, Asda’s Co-Owner, said: “These results highlight a period of robust online performance and a record start to George’s Back-to-School campaign. Despite a challenging retail environment, George.com sales rose by 3.9% and online grocery increased by 1.4%, underscoring our steadfast commitment to delivering quality and value to our customers. Asda Rewards continues to go from strength-to-strength and now accounts for 52% participation in all transactions.”

Asda has doubled its footprint to 1,200 stores and food-to-go outlets since the Blackburn-based billionaire Issa brothers and TDR Capital completed a £6.8 billion acquisition of a majority ownership stake from Walmart Inc. in June 2021.

“Moving forward, the Executive Team has a clear plan to deliver a more consistent experience for customers. In Q2, the supermarket started a £50m store upgrade programme to improve the customer experience across 171 stores, focused on upgrading its superstores and supermarkets for long-term success. Enhancements and refreshes have already started at 130 of these stores,” the company said. “For the remainder of H2 and beyond, the business is focused on three key priorities: customer satisfaction, enhanced product availability and a renewed trading plan.”