Asda’s problems continue as it becomes the only major supermarket to see its sales fall before Christmas.

Asda was the only major supermarket to suffer a drop in sales in the run-up to the crucial Christmas trading period.

The grim update underlined the scale of the job facing the grocer’s returning boss.

Research group Kantar said Asda’s sales in the 12 weeks to December 1 fell to £4.3bn, down 5.6 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

The grim figures laid bare the extent of the group’s decline just weeks after former chief executive Allan Leighton returned to the company to replace Stuart Rose as chief executive.

Asda, once Britain’s second-largest supermarket, has been reeling since the Issa brothers, Mohsin and Zuber, joined private equity giant TDR Capital to buy it in a deal fueled by £6.8bn debt in 2021.

By contrast, sales rose last month at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl.

Asda has seen its share of the grocery market fall from 14.1 per cent at the time of the acquisition to a record low of 12.3 per cent.

It has languished as shoppers flock to rivals, with Aldi now hot on its heels with 10.3 per cent of the market.

That has left Asda struggling to maintain its position as Britain’s third-largest supermarket behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

The company is now pinning its hopes on new leadership.

Leighton, 71, made his name as boss of Asda between 1996 and 2001. His tenure included the £6.7bn sale of the company to US giant Walmart in 1999.

One of the tasks at the top of his list will be the appointment of a full-time chief executive. Asda has been trying to hire one for more than three years.

Morrisons, which is also owned by private equity and was bought by Clayton Dubilier & Rice for £7bn in October 2021, has also seen its market share fall.

It now owns 8.6 percent, up from 8.7 percent last year.

But it was good news for Britain’s biggest supermarket. Tesco has seen its market share jump to a seven-year high of 28.1 per cent.