Under-pressure Asda has announced changes to its leadership team to strengthen its group of executives as it “refocuses on its mission to satisfy the daily and weekly shopping needs of ordinary working people and their families who demand value”. 

It has confirmed that Liz Evans is taking up the position of chief commercial officer, non-food and retail, “leading its large store operations on a permanent basis, alongside her continued leadership of the George clothing brand”. 

There’s also a new position on its executive team – chief supply chain officer – “to oversee all its food and general merchandise operations”.  

The remaining positions relate solely to the firm’s food operations.

Allan Leighton, executive chairman, said: “Asda’s mission is to deliver the value ordinary working people, and their families demand from us. To do this, we need to be and are rediscovering our ‘Asda-ness’. I’m delighted to be announcing these leadership changes as we start this journey.”

Asda is one of the big four UK supermarkets (along with Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons) and always traded heavily on its reputation for low prices. But nimble rivals like Aldi and Lidl have taken that crown in recent years and Asda’s market share has been heading downwards.

Its performance was declining while it was still under Walmart ownership but its struggles accelerated under private equity firm TDR Capital and billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa who linked up to buy it half a decade ago.

They brought in Lord Stuart Rose (former CEO of Arcadia and M&S) to chair the business. But he was replaced by retail industry veteran Allan Leighton late last year with the task of turning the business around.

After a tough Christmas trading period for the retailer (Kantar data showed its sales fell almost 6% in the last quarter of the year), only this week it was revealed that it has cut a number of regional manager roles. That followed HQ job cuts in November.

But despite Asda’s sales woes, the George fashion operation appears to have been a bright spot in general across the past few years. 

The company has issued a number of upbeat George-linked reports. And at the time of its last results in November, it said Q3 total group revenues, excluding fuel, fell 2.5%, but George sales rose 4.9%, helped by the Back to School season.

Liz Evans’ permanent elevation to the commercial role is perhaps a reflection of the strong performance she’s put in at George, which takes in homewares as well as fashion.