LONDON, Jan 5 Reuters Asda, Britain39;s third largest supermarket group, said it would price match discounters Aldi and Lidl on hundreds of comparable grocery products, following bigger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury39;s who have schemes that match Aldi39;s prices.

Asda, owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital, said on Friday it has reduced the prices of 287 products, including milk, bread, cheese, fresh meat and fresh fruit and vegetables, by an average of 17 to match whichever discounter has the lowest price.

The new addition to Asda39;s pricing strategy comes after it underperformed rivals in 2023 and was a relative laggard over the key Christmas period, according to industry data.

Data from market researcher Kantar published on Wednesday showed Asda39;s sales rose 3.4 in the 12 weeks to Dec. 24 yearonyear, while market leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury39;s had growth of 7.5 and 9.3 respectively.

Tesco and Sainsbury39;s have credited their Aldi price matching schemes for stemming the flow of shoppers to the discounters.

Asda39;s latest price cuts and reductions on 1,700 products announced by Ocado Retail on Thursday, add to the UK39;s brighter outlook for food inflation.

Kantar said on Wednesday grocery inflation slowed to 6.7 in December from 9.1 in November, the fastest monthonmonth drop that the researcher has recorded and its lowest level since April 2022.

Reporting by James Davey; editing by William James and Susan Fenton…