Asda to open Express convenience stores in bid to gain market share
Asda will open its first convenience stores this winter, as the supermarket hopes to appeal to more shoppers on the go.
The first Asda Express store will open in Sutton Coldfield next month, followed by a store in Tottenham Hale in December.
Some 30 more stores will be rolled out across 2023, in a scheme that is set to create around 500 new jobs, the Big 4 supermarket announced on Tuesday.
Customers will be able to choose from more than 3,000 products, including groceries, hot and cold food, and Leon coffee.
Asda is gunning to become the UK’s second largest supermarket chain, with an expansion of its convenience offering at the heart of its ambitions to achieve this.
Mohsin Issa, who co-owns Asda alongside his brother Zuber and London-based private equity firm TDR Capital, called the launch “a landmark moment” for Asda.
“The stores have been designed to cater for a broad range of customer needs – whether that’s popping in for a pint of milk, grabbing a spot of lunch on the go, or buying the fresh ingredients to cook dinner from scratch,” he added.
Asda was the fastest growing of the top supermarkets over the last 12 weeks to 8 October, according to till data released by consumer intelligence firm NielsenIQ. It gained market share of 6.9 per cent while Sainsburys gained 5.1 per cent and Tesco gained 4.2 per cent.
Analysis from NielsenIQ concluded that the growth was due to Asda having weaker comparatives to the other retailers.
However, the supermarket also has nine per cent more shoppers than this time last year – suggesting its new Just Essentials budget range has driven shoppers to stores.