BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Asda chief exec Andy Bond is to leave his role at the supermarket giant after five years.
Bond – cited as a key driver of Asda’s ‘not-for-profit’ bike launch last summer and the Pedal Power initiative – will become chairman of Asda’s exec committee.
Bond said: “I’m very proud to have led Asda for the past five years and helped it find a new confidence to serve its customers better. We have a strong leadership team that’s fully engaged in the business, and I’m looking forward to working with the new CEO to build upon the foundation we’ve put in place for continued success.”
After the launch of Pedal Power last year the supermarket chain told BikeBiz: “Pedal Power was spearheaded by our CEO Andy Bond, who is a really keen cyclist. He wanted to make cycling an accessible activity, for families in particular. This is why we chose to forego the profit on the bikes to make it accessible for all.”
However, Asda’s ‘profit-free bikes’ proved highly controversial to the cycle trade, sparking an BSO-critical blog and a BBC Watchdog special on the subject.
Fellow grocer giant Tesco has recently upped its bicycle game. For more on that click here.
