Asda Stores Ltd boss and owner Mohsin Issa has announced he is providing an emergency £30 million cash injection amid a sales slump at the troubled supermarket chain.
The investment package, intended to increase staffing hours and improve customer service levels, will be implemented before the end of the year.
Since the takeover by Mohsin Issa, his brother Zuber, and private equity firm TDR in 2021, Asda's market share has dropped from 14.8% to 12.7%.
Recent figures from data company NIQ revealed that sales fell by 5.9% in the 12 weeks to July compared to the previous year.
A spokesman said: “We recognise that there are some areas where we can and need to improve, and have set out our plan for colleagues to improve the availability of products in stores, the overall customer experience and ensuring we have the right trade plan throughout the remainder of the year.”
Asda's sluggish performance has led to criticism from union bosses, including Nadine Houghton at GMB.
She claimed that Asda has been “cutting hours from the shop floor and not investing in the stores.”
“The GMB sees no evidence that Asda’s owners have a plan to address these deep-rooted issues and return Asda to its rightful place as a value grocer catering to working families,” Houghton added.
Asda has contested these claims, arguing that it regularly updates the GMB on its investment plans.
The company also announced a £50 million store upgrade programme in March, aimed at improving the shopping experience across 173 stores.