Of the c-store sites and attached petrol station forecourts Asda acquired from the Co-op Group last year, it has plans to convert 116 of them to its Asda Express convenience brand. Asda officially launched the program, and 11 sites are the first to undergo the rebrand, with the remaining 105 sites due to be converted by the end of Q1 next year.
Asda acquired 132 sites from the Co-op last year in a £438 million deal as part of its long-term strategy to become the U.K.’s second-largest supermarket by moving into the fast-growing £40 billion convenience market.
The acquisition received regulatory approval from the Competition & Markets Authority in June after Asda agreed to divest 13 sites to satisfy competition requirements.
“The launch of our conversion program is an incredibly exciting moment for our business and accelerates our presence in the fast-growing convenience market. We look forward to bringing Asda’s great value in fuel and groceries to many more communities across the U.K. and to welcoming over 2,000 former Co-op colleagues to the Asda family in the coming months,” Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said.
The converted Asda Express sites will stock up to 3,000 branded and own-label products to suit a broad range of customer needs, including “top up” shops for essential items such as milk and bread, grabbing lunch on the go, or cooking dinner from scratch.
Customers can also be reassured that they’ll be making a saving when Asda comes to town, as the base prices in Asda’s current Express stores are on average 8.9% cheaper than The Co-op, based on the previous eight weeks’ data at an average match count of 1,239 products.
Stores opened in all corners of the U.K., including in Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, Somerset London, Scotland and Devon. The full list of locations include:
- Milnsbridge — Manchester Road
- Ellistown — Midland Road
- Locking — Locking Moor Road
- Hillingdon — Uxbridge Road
- Nether Poppleton — Great North Way
- Birkhill — Dundee
- Mytholmroyd — Burnley Road
- Plymouth — Wembury Road
- Bramley — Horsham Road
- Chorley — Moor Road
- Gosforth — Rotary Way
In addition to the recently converted Asda Express stores, the supermarket currently has three standalone Express stores in Sutton Coldfield, London (Tottenham Hale) and Calne. Upcoming sites include Manchester Oxford Road and Romford Station, which are due to open in the coming months. Asda also confirmed that its acquisition of EG Group’s U.K. convenience estate is on track to complete in the final quarter of this year.
Andy Perry, who ran the acquired Co-op sites while the acquisition received regulatory approval, has joined Asda as vice president of convenience and will utilize his extensive experience to support Asda as it accelerates the expansion of its convenience business.