By Jana Weigand
LONDON--Asda Stores Ltd., the British arm of Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. (WMT), Thursday reported a 0.1% rise in like for like sales in
the 15 weeks to April 20, helped by strong Easter trading, and said
it is narrowing the price gap to discounters such as Aldi.
The supermarket chain, which outlined its five-year strategy in
November, said it continues to invest in driving efficiency in what
it called a challenging market. "We are in the first few months of
a five year journey, but I am confident that we are on the right
path," Chief Executive and President Andy Clarke said.
Rival supermarket chain Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN)
last week reported a 4.2% drop in first-quarter sales and said the
trading environment remains challenging.
The U.K.'s "big four" supermarket chains--Asda, Tesco Corp.
(TESO), J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) and Wm Morrison--are losing
customers to high-end grocer Waitrose and discount chains such as
Aldi and Lidl, which are rapidly expanding and benefiting from an
improving customer perception of quality.
Write to Jana Weigand at jana.weigand@wsj.com
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