Asda Stores Ltd and its experience under the control of the Issa brothers could be nearing the end after its chairman issued a scathing review of their performance, piling more pressure on the struggling supermarket.
Stuart Rose, the retail veteran, said he had been “embarrassed” by Asda’s decline under the ownership of Mohsin and Zuber Issa.
It comes after Asda revealed its like-for-like sales had fallen by 5.3% in the second quarter and follows Zuber Issa’s decision to exit his stake, selling his share to private equity co-owner TDR Capital.
Rose, in an interview with the Telegraph, said: “I am going to be perfectly honest with you. I’ve been in this industry for a long time and I am slightly embarrassed. I won’t deny that.
“I don’t like being second, third or fourth. And if you look honestly now at the comparative numbers of Kantar or whatever index, we are not performing as well as should be. And I don’t like that.”
Asda’s market share is now at 12.7%, as of July, having dropped from 14.8% when the Issa brothers first took ownership, Kantar data showed.
Rose, the former M&S boss, said he would be pushing for Mohsin Issa to take a step back permanently from the day-to-day management of the business.
“I wouldn’t encourage him to [intervene in operations], and I am the chairman,” he added.
“We need a full-time fully experienced retail executive to come in. We always said Mohsin was a particular horse for a particular course. He is a disrupter, an entrepreneur, he is an agitator.
“In the nicest possible way, Mohsin’s work is largely complete.”