Asda chairman says supermarkets owed ‘debt of gratitude’ and worth capping discuss is ‘somewhat backward trying’

Asda’s chairman has mentioned supermarkets are owed a “debt of gratitude” as he dismissed discuss of capping costs as “rather backward looking”.

Stuart Rose’s feedback come after reports that supermarkets will be encouraged to introduce voluntary price caps on necessities resembling milk and bread to assist prospects address the price of residing.

Lord Rose instructed Sky’s Ian King Live programme: “Not just Asda but all retailers are very efficient – we are a very efficient industry.

“In actual phrases, the price of meals, the price of clothes, the price of electronics has come down during the last 20, 30, 40 years, largely because of the effectivity of shops.

“Governments of any complexion owe us a debt of gratitude, and this recent speculation over the last couple of days about fixing prices is, frankly, rather backward looking.”

Food price inflation in the UK was 15.4% in the year to May, in response to figures from the British Retail Consortium, a slower fee than the document seen in April, however nonetheless a significant component within the cussed fee of total inflation.

But the large gamers have seen their earnings fall – in April Tesco said its adjusted operating profit for the year was £2.6bn (down 6.9% on the earlier 12 months), whereas Sainsbury’s said its underlying profit before tax was down from £730m to £690m.

Asda isn’t a publicly-listed firm, so its earnings usually are not reported, however Lord Rose grouped it with its opponents’ earnings and mentioned: “They’ve all gone backwards”.

He rubbished strategies that grocery retailers ought to face a windfall tax much like that imposed on the oil and gasoline corporations – Shell and BP have revealed document earnings in current months on the again of elevated oil and gasoline costs because of the conflict in Ukraine.

He mentioned evaluating the 2 was “comparing an apple and a pear”, including that meals retailers’ revenue margins are between 3% and 4% and customers got “massive choice and, in real terms, fantastic value for money”.

“I’m not an economist, I’m a business – but I’ve been in business for 50 years.

“You cannot intrude with market forces.

“At the end of the day, you have to trust us as retailers to give our consumers the best deals.

“Our prospects are very savvy, they’re very sensible.

“They know that we’re working hard to do things their behalf and we will continue to do so.

“Intervention all the time brings unintended penalties and, personally, I might not suggest it.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by Andrew Opie, the director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.

Mr Opie told Sky News the pledge was “meaningless” and that it was “extremely unlikely” that any of the BRC members would sign up.

The trade association’s members include Tesco, Iceland, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons, and Aldi.

Mr Opie added that prices “could not” come down any more as “there is no cash left within the provide chain”.