When he said farewell to his beloved Morrisons in 2023, those who knew him the best found it inconceivable that David Potts would walk into the sunset for the comparatively cushy life of a serial non-exec.
Andy Higginson, former chairman to Potts’ CEO at the retailer and fellow Tesco veteran, told The Grocer at the time: “I can’t see it somehow. He’s too much of a leader, too much of a doer. That’s what made him great.”
🔔 Get industry exclusive updates direct to WhatsApp
Now, a third major supermarket will get to see if Potts can still work his magic and whether even that will be enough to finally get Asda firing on all cylinders.
It’s now almost six years since the billionaire Issa brothers and TDR Capital completed the £6.8bn takeover of Asda from Walmart, and it seems unfathomable that Asda has gone more than five years without a recognised CEO since the departure of Roger Burnley.
Whilst some question why, if he was seen as the man for the job, it has taken so long, none will question Potts’ credentials after his stellar achievements at first Tesco and then Morrisons.
Yet getting Asda back on its pedestal could be Potts’ biggest challenge yet, even after he was credited with saving Morrisons from the abyss.
HIs most obvious task is to breathe new life into Asda’s sales performance with the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator showing a fall of 0.5% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 4 October.
Having shown a short-lived recent return to growth, it became the only major retailer in decline, whilst its market share fell from 11.8% to 11.5% compared to a year ago, and down from 14.3% in October 2022.
Under the charismatic Allan Leighton, who now steps aside to become non-executive chairman, Asda has achieved some semblance of stability and elements of recapturing lost identity, something Potts will want to turbocharge.
Highlights include January 2025’s return of Rollback and the Asda price pocket tap along with a bold pledge to make its entire product range cheaper than all other full-range supermarkets within two years. Yet instead of rolling back the years, 2026 began with free-falling market share and falling sales.
A major upgrade to its fresh and frozen aisles in May has yet to bring the transformation in store standards and consistency that many experts believe will be Potts’ number one mission.
Shore Capital analyst Clive Black points out that in the past year the “softness of its underbelly has hardened”, with Asda “no longer shipping share to the same extent as before”.
“Potts coming in is great news for Asda, because David more than anything is a real stores expert,” says one leading supplier. “He has achieved what he’s achieved by being a single-minded champion of the shopper.”
That sentiment came across in his first remarks as CEO yesterday, when he vowed to make “improvements to the shopping trip every week, which customers can experience and feel in their pockets”.
Potts will bring a very different style to the baseball cap-wearing swagger of Leighton.
“Potts is one of the greatest grocers that this country has ever produced,” adds Black. “His understanding of the trade is second to none, he was brilliant at Tesco and saved Morrisons.”
Rather than throwing huge sums at more price cuts, Black believes Potts will focus on “better-presented stores at a consistent level”.
Whilst store standards remain uneven, Leighton has managed to calm the storm of union upheaval, which a couple of years ago threatened to cause irreparable damage. Yet despite his day-one pledge to improve store standards and bring down prices, some doubt over whether even Potts can overcome that other big drag – the ownership situation with Asda.
“Potts is a fantastic operator and I have huge respect for him. His record speaks for itself,” says one supplier. “However, I think this turnaround may be beyond even his abilities. Asda has been allowed to slide for too long, so permanent damage has been done, and they don’t have the money needed to invest in bringing back shoppers.”
Unsurprisingly, given his devotion to his previous employer, whose fortunes he had vowed to closely follow as a loyal supporter even after stepping down, there are already whispers of a potentially even bigger mission for Potts.
With speculation of consolidation in the industry still swirling despite talks between Sainsbury’s and Morrisons apparently biting the dust, some observers ask, who better than Potts to oversee an Asda-led Morrisons merger?
Could the two most troubled of the traditional supermarkets, after their rocky experiences at the hands of private equity, join forces to give Tesco and the discounters a real run for their money?
Yet, as he was introduced to his new staff at Asda House in Leeds yesterday, there was little hint of anything other than an industry fighter glad to be back in the ring.
For neutral observers at least, that will make an already fascinating supermarket battle – starting with the crucial run-up to Christmas – even more of a must-watch.
No comments yet