Asda released its Q4 and full-year sales figures today, announcing a 0.1% increase in Q4 like-for-like sales and an uplift of 1% over the full year.

Although in general results were pretty flat, it did reveal some impressive news about its clothing label George, both in terms of record sales and major international expansion.

But, unsurprisingly, all anyone wanted to talk about was horsemeat. Have sales slumped? Will any more products be withdrawn? How much will the testing cost - and will the customer end up paying for it?

Admitting the scandal had left him “shocked”, Asda CEO Andy Clarke cut a very different figure to the jokey, wideboy blustering of Iceland CEO Malcolm Walker. Clarke was very calm and open with his replies, even conceding that at this stage it was impossible to tell whether the customer would end up shelling out more cash as a result of the scandal.

“Can I say no costs will be passed onto the customer? No, I can’t, because we are still working through the scale [of the situation] which goes right up through the supply chain,” admitted Clarke. “However, it will be our core objective not to.”

Clarke also confessed that, as CEO, he felt “responsible” for the situation that saw Asda withdraw a tub of horse bolognaise. He vowed to leave “no stone unturned” until Asda had eradicated the problem.

“I can’t fix fraudulent criminal activity, but I can fix the products we sell,” said Clarke. “This has dented trust and I am committed to rebuilding that.”

Clarke will hope that the results of a wave of further tests for horsemeat being released today and tomorrow will bring good news, not bad. But based on today’s performance, he seems to be handling the situation well. Meanwhile, for an in-depth look at how Clarke and the other CEOs caught up in the ongoing equine drama have dealt with the situation so far, read this weekend’s issue of The Grocer.

Topics