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A former Tesco and Morrisons executive has backed out of a move to join Asda, just days after being appointed by the troubled supermarket.
Gary Mills had been announced internally as the supermarket’s new interim retail director last month, although it is understood he has since changed his mind.
It comes amid a flurry of departures at the top of Asda, with Mark Simpson recently leaving as chief transformation officer and Paul Gillow departing his role as commercial director.
Iceland’s group buying director Andrew Staniland is understood to have been appointed to head up Asda’s fresh and frozen food division, replacing Mr Gillow next year.
The changes form part of a radical management overhaul being pursued by Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa as he attempts to arrest an alarming slump in sales.
Last month, Asda was revealed to be the only major supermarket where sales were falling. According to figures from industry analysis firm Kantar, sales at Asda were down 4pc in the 12 weeks to June 9.
It means the gap has widened between Asda and its larger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Asda’s market share slipped from 13.7pc to 12.8pc last year, according to Kantar.
The slump follows years of pressure on Asda, with the supermarket struggling to lure shoppers since its £6.8bn debt-fuelled takeover by the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR in 2021.
MPs have questioned whether high debt financing costs are making Asda less competitive and hampering its ability to lower prices.
The supermarket has, at the same time, been racing to find areas where it can cut costs. The Telegraph revealed last month that Asda was planning to outsource more than 100 staff to an India-based supplier.
It said the changes were part of its plans to overhaul its IT systems to “set Asda up for long-term success” and had been a “difficult decision” that it was consulting over.
Asda is also increasingly exploring ways to shake up its workforce.
Plans to alter the working week pattern for managers were also recently shelved amid a backlash from staff.
Workers claimed plans for a four-day working week had left them feeling exhausted.
The flexible working arrangements had been launched to stamp out a revolt among disgruntled store managers but staff were left unhappy with the changes.
Store staff involved in the pilot worked a 44-hour week over four days instead of five for the same pay.
The new hours, which were trialled at 20 Asda stores, led to complaints from staff that the longer shifts were “physically demanding” and they were exhausted on their day off.
Others argued that it was more difficult to meet the earlier start and later finish times of the four-day week shift while parents said it created “difficulties with childcare and school drop-offs and pick-ups”.
Asda said a new pilot involving working 39 hours over five days had proved more popular and will run until the end of the year. Employees will not receive any reduction in pay despite the shorter hours.
Mr Issa has been managing Asda since 2021 but the supermarket has also been forced to step up efforts to find a new chief executive to replace him.
The supermarket is touting a package of between £8m and £10m for Mr Issa’s replacement in an effort to lure a top executive to the post.
However, The Telegraph revealed that some retail bosses had raised questions over how involved Mohsin Issa would be in the business once he stepped down from the chief executive role and had ruled themselves out until his position was clarified.
An Asda spokesman said: “We can confirm that Mark Simpson has left the business today by mutual agreement. We would like to thank Mark for his years of service with Asda and wish him well for the future.”