Asda has announced that it is axing its Smart Price range. It will replace it with what it said was a new and larger value series of products, amid the cost of living crisis.
The grocer said it had seen growth slow due to customers returning to pre-pandemic habits. It said the new range of value goods will be called Just Essentials by Asda.
The new budget range will comprise 300 products, a 50 per cent increase on the current Smart Price range. Just Essentials products will initially arrive in stores from May and be rolled out to replace Smart Price over the summer.
Asda said it has designed the new range with consideration for customer concerns over the cost of living crisis. It comes a week after the Office for National Statistics said inflation jumped to a 30-year-high of 6.2 per cent in February, with food inflation at 5.3 per cent. Asda was bought by the Issa brothers and backers TDR Capital last year.
Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said: "We understand that customers are increasingly worried about the cost of living and want help to keep their grocery bills in check, whilst still being able to buy healthy and nutritious food for their families. Our new Just Essentials range has been specifically designed with this in mind, combing our lowest prices with a much larger and more diverse range of great value products to meet all household needs."
The shake-up of its product range came as Asda revealed revenues of £20.4 billion in 2021, representing a 0.6 per cent increase in like-for-like sales, excluding fuel. However, the retailer highlighted that like-for-like sales declined by 2.9 per cent in the three months to December compared with the same period a year earlier, as customers returned to pubs and restaurants.
Online sales also declined by five per cent in 2021 against the previous year, as the return to the office saw a reduction in home deliveries. Asda said operating profits soared over the year, rising by 42 per cent to £693.1 million due to a reduction in Covid-related costs.
Mr Issa added: "When we bought Asda we were clear that we wanted to grow this great business and our ambition is for Asda to regain its position as the UK's second-largest grocery retailer. We are pleased with the progress made in the six months since we officially took over the business and are confident we can achieve this long-term ambition by providing customers with exceptional value wherever and however they choose to shop with us."
The Issa brothers have continued to lead the supermarket group following their £6.8 billion takeover, with the firm's already lengthy pursuit of a new chief executive officer yet to find a replacement for Roger Burnley.
