Asda calls sales directors to ‘reset conference’ amid range review speculation

Asda boss Allan Leighton has summoned sales directors to a ’reset’ conference at the start of next month, amid speculation a major range overhaul could be in the works.

Leighton has already slashed the number of brands in the Asda range as a key plank in his turnaround plans. It is understood the retailer is now hoping to attract brands to become partners in a new phase of its range shake-up.

The meeting will see Asda’s returning chief commercial officer Darren Blackhurst, who rejoined the business in July, set out plans for a “commercial reset” of the business. This has sparked speculation he plans another review like that carried out when he held the role from 2006 to 2010.

Blackhurst’s tenure at the time saw high-profile delists for brands including Princes tuna, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and several others, with Blackhurst setting out to remove duplication across a raft of categories to allow Asda to bring down prices.

The invitation, which was sent out to UK sales directors last week, invites them to attend the Asda Merchandising Centre of Excellence, in Leeds, on 7 October, with Asda saying it plans to ”put customers at heart of everything we do”.

Confirmed speakers at the event include Leighton, Blackhurst and Rachel Eyre, who Asda poached from Morrisons as its new chief customer officer in May.

“The speculation is that Blackhurst will be looking for suppliers to get on the bus,” one supplier source told The Grocer. “We think he will be looking to do exactly as he has done in the past with the infamous John West vs Princes Tuna, where one got delisted and the other got the whole pie.

“And the rumour is that its not just about 2026. There will be an ask for Q4 2025.

“This is where experience comes in handy: we have been on this merry-go-round a few times.”

Despite Asda stressing it regularly held supplier conferences at the venue, the fact that sales directors have been given just three weeks’ notice of the event has increased speculation about its intentions.

“They do have fairly regular conferences, but not at this short notice and not aimed specifically at sales directors,” said another supplier.

In March, The Grocer revealed Leighton planned to axe around 6,000 SKUs to boost its suppliers’ volumes as he tried to create a price gap between the retailer and its rival full-range supermarkets.

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Last month, Leighton said there were signs the supermarket’s Formula For Growth plan, including its SKU cull and Rollback price cuts, were “beginning to bite into the business”. This was despite revealing that sales continued to decline during the second quarter of 2025, albeit at a slower rate than the previous quarter. 

“We know exactly what’s coming,” said Ged Futter, former Asda buyer and founder of The Retail Mind, who previously worked under Blackhurst at the supermarket.

“We have seen Blackhurst do this before at Asda with the less is more strategy.

“Now he’s got his feet back under the table this is clearly Asda making a call to arms for suppliers for the next financial year and suppliers will be expecting more of the same.

“The trouble for Asda is that the retail world is in a very different place to what it was in 2006. Just look at the share Aldi and Lidl had then. Back then Asda owned price.

“Leighton has already tried to a certain extent to do this already this year.

“It makes sense for them, now they’ve hired people like Blackhurst and Eyre to be putting them out in front of suppliers. But I fear that Asda will be out to achieve the impossible.”

Sales directors have been given until 1 October “at the very latest” to say if they plan to attend the event.

An Asda spokesman said the conference was a “key opportunity” for suppliers to hear from its senior leadership team and to get an update on its growth plans for 2026.

He said that while some of its larger supplier parents were already familiar with Asda’s Formula for Growth strategy, many would be hearing about it for the first time.

Asda said it expected around 600 suppliers to be at the event.