Asda chief executive Andy Bond and his colleagues will be celebrating this weekend after being crowned Britain's cheapest supermarket for an amazing tenth year running.

The Leeds-based retailer provided the cheapest shopping list for 32 weeks of the 50 weeks covered by The Grocer 33's 2006/2007 survey. By comparison, Tesco enjoyed 10 weeks as cheapest retailer.

Asda registered an average basket price of £45.23, compared with arch-rival's Tesco's average of £45.98.

Hailing a decade of trouncing its competitors on prices, Bond re-iterated the importance of price to the supermarket and its customers. "We've always said low prices are part of our DNA," he said. "Winning The Grocer 33 award for a decade proves it. An unbeatable value weekly shop is top priority for our customers so it always will be for us too."

But one expert warned that Asda should not rest on its laurels. The advent of Whole Foods Market proved that supermarkets had to focus on much more than just price, said Richard Ratner of Seymour Pierce.

Consumers were demanding more from retailers than low prices and even Asda's position as lowest-priced was not set in stone. "Tesco has got the firepower to be the cheapest," he claimed.

However, Bond insisted Asda was offering its customers more than simply low prices. "At Asda we always put customers first. Customers want low prices. But the past year has not just been about price. Our strategy of improving customer service and broadening our ranges has meant a million more customers shopping with us every week."

As well as scooping The Grocer 33 crown, Asda has also proved the cheapest retailer on The Grocer 100 index - our secret basket of 100 grocery items - for the second year in a row.

Asda's average basket price of £174.10 was 1.2% cheaper than Tesco.

The Grocer 33 End of Year Review p26

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