Asda enters convenience store war: Supermarket announces 30 new 'Express' shops
18 October 2022, 11:23
Asda has announced plans to open its first 30 standalone convenience stores which will create 500 jobs.
In a challenge to rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's who have hundreds of smaller stores in residential areas, the new shops will open under a new ‘Asda Express’ brand .
The first stores - Tottenham Hale in London the capital and Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham - will open before Christmas.
They will stock a range of hot and cold "food for now" options from Asda and partner brands including Leon, plus "food for later" choices such as ready meals and a selection of £10 meal deals for two people.
Both stores will also offer ‘toyou’ parcel collection and return services. Shortly after opening, they will also offer a rapid delivery service through Uber Eats.
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Mohsin Issa, Asda's co-owner, said: "The launch of our first two Asda Express convenience stores is a landmark moment for our great business and a key step on our journey to bring Asda to more customers in more communities right across the UK.
"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. '
"We're confident customers will find everything they need in these stores and enjoy the convenience of having a new type of Asda store on their doorstep.
"I'm delighted to welcome the new colleagues at Sutton Coldfield and Tottenham Hale to the Asda family – leading us on our first steps into this market and am grateful to all the colleagues who have worked with such pace and enthusiasm to bring this vision to life for Asda."
The new Asda Express stores are wholly owned and operated by Asda.
They are separate from the Asda On the Move convenience sites, which are located on garage forecourts owned and operated by EG Group.
They are also separate from the 132 convenience stores that Asda is acquiring from the Co-op Group.
