With sales and market share shrinking, the notion that the chain could imperil Tesco and Sainsbury’s always felt fancifulLidl close to overtaking Morrisons as UK’s fifth-biggest supermarketFive months ago, the talk in supermarket-land was of price wars. A wounded Asda, with the corporate hero Allan Leighton back at the helm 25 years after leading the last turnaround, was out to restore the chain’s “DNA” as the price-setter among the traditional groups.A “pretty significant war chest” would be dedicated to the task, he promised. The group’s owners – the private equity firm TDR Capital and the remaining Issa brother from the 2021 leveraged buyout – were prepared to suffer a “material reduction in our profit” in the coming year in order to get the sales line moving again. Even shares in the mighty Tesco shuddered in the face of this apparent sudden shift in competitive conditions. Continue reading…