Asda planning to open 300 Express convenience stores in the UK over the next four years
Asda is planning to open 300 convenience stores in the next four years as it battles to overtake Sainsbury’s and become Britain’s second biggest supermarket.
The company, which was bought by the billionaire Issa brothers and their private equity backers for £6.8billion two years ago, has a 14 per cent share of the market.
And it is turning to convenience stores in a bid to overtake Sainsbury’s, which has 15.2 per cent market share.
Expansion: Asda is turning to convenience stores in a bid to overtake Sainsbury’s, which has 15.2% market share
The plan to open 300 Asda Express stores will create 10,000 jobs by the end of 2026.
Asda has just two convenience stores under the Express format having opened the second in Tottenham Hale, north London, yesterday.
As households look to save money during the cost of living squeeze, grocers are in a fierce battle to win customers with smaller convenience stores playing a major part.
Arch-rival Morrisons snapped up newsagent chain McColl’s in May, unveiling plans last month to convert most of them to Morrisons Daily stores.
Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa said convenience stores were a ‘key part’ of his plans to grow the grocer.
He said: ‘A key part of our growth strategy is to provide customers with more opportunities to shop at Asda closer to where they live or work.
‘With more than three quarters of the UK population visiting a convenience store in the last 12 months, the potential for growth in this market is significant.
‘Our ambition is to become the convenience destination of choice by providing shoppers with great value and a comprehensive and convenient range of products and services under one roof.’