More prices are ‘locked down’ by Asda

US investment bank Morgan Stanley has conducted research which shows that Leeds-based Asda is now five per cent cheaper than rivals Sainsbury’s and Tesco on a range of branded goods, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday.

Responding to the report, an Asda spokesman said today: “We know that price is top of the shopping list when customers are choosing where to shop and we want our customers to be paying the same low prices week in, week out.

“Which is why last month we introduced our biggest ever Price Lock campaign, and committed to holding down the cost of over 300 products across our stores and online.”

Asda, which is led by chief executive Andy Clarke, has also faced competition from German discount retailers in recent years.