The move would be a bitter blow to the BRC and seriously undermine the authority of its monthly sales monitor. Should Asda leave the group, rivals Tesco and Sainsbury would also be forced to withdraw their support for the survey, because it would be easy to work out their individual performance from the BRC's figures.
BRC director general Kevin Hawkins said: 'We were informed last week that Asda was not planning to renew its membership of the British Retail Consortium. We are seeking a meeting with Andy Bond to understand the reason behind this decision. We would obviously be very disappointed if they do decide not to renew, but would always welcome them back in the future.'
Asda's annual subscription to the BRC is thought to amount to£250,000.
The BRC was keen to stress that even if Asda does not renew its membership, it does not necessarily mean it will pull out of the Retail Sales Monitor survey and that even if it did, the RSM has many more retailers joining the scheme to compensate for the lack of Asda's involvement.
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