Asda ditches new staff uniforms rollout

Asda has ditched plans to introduce new uniforms for its store staff as it ramps up its turnaround efforts.

The supermarket chain had planned to launch the new design, which included breathable fabrics and darker green polo shirts, next year following a successful trial.

The roll out would have been Asda’s first major overhaul of its staff uniforms for more than 12 years, The Telegraph reported.

An Asda spokesperson told Retail Gazette: “Everyone at Asda is focused on getting back on track by lowering prices and delivering the excellent service our customers expect, so we have put this change on hold for the time being.”

“The feedback we received from colleagues throughout the trial will be used to inform any changes to our store-uniforms in the future,” they added.

Asda chair Allan Leighton said he was seeing “green shoots” of recovery in the supermarket’s performance last month, six months into his turnaround plan.

The grocer saw first quarter sales excluding fuel drop 5.9% to £5bn in the four months to 31 March. On a like-for-like basis, trading declined 3.1% – representing a 1.1% improvement compared to the final quarter of last year.

It comes as Kantar reported that Asda had been overtaken by Aldi in food and drink sales during the four weeks to 18 May, with the supermarket’s 9.4% increase falling short of the 9.8% uplift at the German discounter up 9.8%.

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