Asda Stores Limited
Type	Subsidiary
Founded	1965
Headquarters	Leeds, England, UK
Key people	Andy Bond, Chief Executive
Industry	Retail
Products	Grocery, General merchandise, financial services
Revenue	see Wal-Mart
Operating income	£638m
Employees	143,125
Parent	Wal-Mart

Asda is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom offering food, clothing and general merchandise products. A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Andrew James Bond (born March 16, 1965 in Grantham) is the Chief Executive Officer of ASDA. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need A grocery store is a store established primarily for the Retailing of Food. In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores In financial and business Accounting, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT is a measure of a firm's profitability that excludes interest and income tax expenses The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A holding company is a company that owns part all or a majority of other companies' outstanding Stock. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Customer divider barjpg|thumb|In supermarkets sellers periodically change prices for classes of goods in response to market conditions rather than negotiating the price of each good The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Wal-Mart in 1999,^[1] and is currently the second largest chain in the UK after Tesco, having overtaken Sainsbury's in 2003. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain J Sainsbury plc ( is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd commonly known as Sainsbury's (also Sainsbury and JS) the third largest

Asda is Wal-Mart's largest non-U. S. subsidiary, accounting for almost half of the company's international sales. As of January 2006, there were 21 Asda/Wal-Mart Supercentres, 243 Asda superstores, 37 Asda supermarkets (including town centres), 5 Asda Living stores, 10 George clothing stores and 24 depots (distribution centres) - 340 in total. January 2006: ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July Asda has 150,000 employees, who it refers to as "colleagues" (90,000 part-time, 60,000 full-time). The company is also engaged in property development through its subsidiary company, Gazeley Properties Limited.

As a wholly owned division of Wal-Mart, Asda is not required to declare quarterly or half-yearly earnings. It submits full accounts to Companies House each October. Companies House is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government in the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Contents 1 Famous Colleagues 2 History 2.1 Dairy scandal 3 Store formats 4 Market share 5 Marketing 6 Sponsorship 7 Employee relations 7.1 Trade union relations 8 Online 9 Asda Smart Price 10 Asda Financial Services 11 Ethical trading 12 See also 13 References 14 External links

Famous Colleagues

• Keith Dagger - The Portering Manager

History

Asda Stores Limited was founded as Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Ltd in 1949. However the formation of the Asda name occurred in 1965 with the merger of the Asquith chain of three supermarkets and Associated Dairies; Asda is an abbreviation of Asquith and Dairies. ^[2]

For a short time in the 1980s Asda Stores Ltd was a subsidiary of Asda-MFI plc following a merger between the two companies. Other companies in the group were Associated Dairies Ltd, the furniture retailer MFI and Allied Carpets. MFI Retail Limited, usually referred to simply as MFI, is a national British Furniture Retailer. After the sale of MFI and Allied Carpets the company name changed to Asda Group plc. The dairy division was sold to a management buyout and renamed Associated Fresh Foods ^[3], meaning that ASDA today has no connection with one of the firms its name was derived from.

With its stores mainly based in its northern home base, the newly focused food retail group expanded further south in 1989 by buying the large format stores of rival Gateway Superstores for £705m. Holt Park is a medium-sized yet quiet low-rise 1970s estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England (approximately seven miles Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Somerfield is a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. This move overstretched the company and it found itself in deep trouble trying to sell too many different products. ^[4] Resultantly forced to raise money from shareholders in both 1991 and 1993, it was revived under the leadership of Archie Norman, who later became a front bench Conservative MP. Archibald John Norman (born 1 May 1954 is a British Businessman and Politician. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. CEO from 1991, Norman was chairman of the company during the period 1996–99, and replicated the store on the basis of United States retail giant Wal-Mart, even sending protégé Allan Leighton to Bentonville, Arkansas to asses and photograph what systems and marketing Wal-Mart had deployed. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Allan Leighton (born April 12, 1953 in Hereford) is an English Businessman, and current non-executive Chairman of the Bentonville is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. ^[5]

When Norman left to pursue his political career he was replaced by Leighton. Wal-Mart wanted to enter the UK market so CEO Bob Martin lobbied UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on planning issues. Bob Martin may refer to;People Bob Martin (basketball (born 1969 American basketball player Bob Martin (golfer (1848&ndash1917 The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to ^[6] Asda, which at the time owned 230 stores and was in competition with Kingfisher plc, was purchased by Wal-Mart on July 26, 1999 for £6. Kingfisher plc ( is a UK-based international retailer which has owned a wide variety of retail chains in its history but is now focused on the DIY business Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 7Bn. ^[1]

Since the takeover Asda has continued to maintain its headquarters at the then newly opened "Asda House". Asda House was one of the first of the new large office blocks to open as part of the redevelopment of the huge area south of the River Aire from the city centre of Leeds, in the Holbeck district, West Yorkshire. The River Aire is a major River in Yorkshire, England of length 114km (71m Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Holbeck ( is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The district begins on the southern edge of the Leeds City Centre and mainly West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of

In 2005, amid reported concerns within Wal-Mart about a slippage in market share, partially due to a resurgent Sainsbury's, Asda's chief executive, Tony de Nunzio, was replaced by Andy Bond. J Sainsbury plc ( is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd commonly known as Sainsbury's (also Sainsbury and JS) the third largest In the same year, Asda expanded into Northern Ireland by purchasing 12 Safeway stores from Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Safeway was a chain of Supermarkets and Convenience stores in the United Kingdom. Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC ( is the fourth largest chain of Supermarkets in the United Kingdom. ^[7]

Dairy scandal

In December 2007 Asda, Sainsbury's and other retailers admitted to price fixing dairy products between 2002 and 2003. J Sainsbury plc ( is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd commonly known as Sainsbury's (also Sainsbury and JS) the third largest Price fixing is an agreement between business competitors to sell the same product or service at the same price Asda commented, "Everyone at Asda regrets what happened, particularly as we are passionate about lowering prices, Our intention was to provide more money for dairy farmers, who were under severe financial pressure at the time. " So far in total these retailers have been fined £116 million. Tesco, Morrisons and dairy company Lactalis McLelland denied any involvement in price-fixing; however, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says it will carry on its investigation. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC ( is the fourth largest chain of Supermarkets in the United Kingdom. The Office of Fair Trading ( OFT) is a Non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, It was announced that the alleged price-fixing cost consumers £260M. ^[8]

Store formats

Asda originally had a "simple and fresh" store format, which under Archie Norman's team and the focus on a Wal-Mart esque strategy became even more so. The stores are generally white and green, with simplistic layout but built on a Wal-Mart larger footprint format - Asda average store is almost 20% bigger than its rivals, but stocks 20% fewer lines. Following the takeover by Wal-Mart, several "Asda Wal-Mart Supercentres" have been opened, creating some of the largest hypermarkets in the United Kingdom. The first Supercentre opened in Livingston, Scotland in June 2000. Milton Keynes store has opened since then and is the largest Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre. There are currently 21 ASDA Wal-Mart Supercentres in the UK.

However, the preferred large-format stores have brought problems to Asda's growth beyond its spurts in both the 1990s and immediate post Wal-Mart era. Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a Coastal Town in Norfolk, England. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. With the UK's tight planning restrictions, the opportunity to increase retail space via new store builds has been limited. Rather than follow rivals Tesco's and Sainsbury's into "local" format smaller-footprint stores, Asda has chosen to adapt its format to niche stores to retain longer term growth.

In October 2003 Asda launched a new format called 'Asda Living'. This is the company's first "general merchandise" store, containing all its non-food ranges including clothing, home electronics, toys, homewares, health, and beauty products. With these stores they have linked up with Compass Group who operate the coffee shop caffe Ritazza within some of the stores. Compass Group plc ( a British company is the largest Food service business in the world Caffè Ritazza is owned by Select Service Partner (SSP It provides a range of Coffees pastries, Ciabattas The first store with this format opened in Walsall, West Midlands, and at the time of writing has been followed by ten further stores in Cortonwood (Barnsley), Altrincham, Byker (Newcastle-upon-Tyne),Dartford, Tottenham hale, Lincoln, Thurrock (Essex), Glasgow, Leeds Crown Point and at Yorkgate in Belfast. Walsall ( is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, and west of Doncaster Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Tesco is also trialling a similar format, "Homeplus", in Denton, Greater Manchester as well as in Bristol. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain Asda has also opened a number of stores containing its George range only in several city centres.

In April 2006, Asda launched a new format called Asda Essentials in a former Co-op store in Northampton, followed by another in Pontefract a month later. A consumers' cooperative is a Cooperative business owned by its customers for their mutual benefit. This article is about Northampton in England for other places of the same name see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton ( is a large Market This was modelled on the French Leaderprice chain, with a smaller floorplate than Asda's mainstream stores. Essentials focuses primarily on own-brand products, only stocking branded items that are perceived to be at the "core" of a family's weekly shop. This style of retailing is an attempt to address competition from discount supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto. For similarly named settlements see Aldie, short for " AL brecht DI scount" is a Discount Supermarket Lidl is a European discount Supermarket chain of German origin that operates 7000 stores On 6 December 2006 The Guardian newspaper reported that further planned store openings were under review following poor sales in the existing outlets. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. It was also revealed that the range of branded products has been expanded. ^[9] In early January 2007 it was announced that the initial trial Essentials store would close within a month after only 10 months of trading^[10].

In 2004, the George clothing brand (see below) was extended to a number of standalone George stores on the high street. The George label is named after George Davies, founder of Next, who went on to set up the Per Una clothing business for Marks & Spencer. George Davies (born 1941 is a British Fashion retailer who headed Next from its creation in the 1980s Next plc ( is a British clothes Retailer, with its headquarters in Enderby, Leicester. Marks & Spencer Group plc (also M&S, Marks and Sparks, and Marks) is a British Retailer with 843 stores in more than 30 Marks & Spencer Group plc (also M&S, Marks and Sparks, and Marks) is a British Retailer with 843 stores in more than 30 George Stand-alone stores are all to close within the next 12 months due to high rent causing poor returns. Instead, Asda are going to focus on opening 10-12 new Asda Living Stores in 2008.

Market share

As of February 2007, Tesco has 31. February 2007 is the second month of the year It began on a Thursday and 28 days later ended on a Wednesday. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain 4% of the UK grocery market while Asda's share is 16. TNS Worldpanel is a division of the United Kingdom based global market information group TNS, which analyses the British grocery sector 8%, followed by Sainsbury's at 16. 5%, and Morrisons at 11. 0%. ^[11]

It is widely expected, as predicted by former Asda boss Tony de Nunzio in 2006, that Sainsbury's will reclaim second place at some point in the short to medium term, but this has not happened as yet.

According to CACI, as of 2006, ASDA has market dominance in 14 postcode areas; DY (Dudley), B (Birmingham), CH (Chester), L (Liverpool), WN (Wigan), BL (Bolton), BB (Blackburn), LA (Lancaster), HU (Hull), SR (Sunderland), DH (Durham), NE (Newcastle upon Tyne), G (Glasgow) and AB (Aberdeen). CACI International Inc ( is a publicly held Information Technology (IT company headquartered in Arlington Virginia and London England. The, also known as the Dudley postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Bewdley, Brierley Hill, Dudley, Kidderminster, Dudley ( is a large town in the West Midlands, England, with a population of 194919. The B postcode area, also known as the Birmingham postcode area, provides postcodes for the boroughs of Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um The, also known as the Chester postcode area, is a group of postal districts near the England / Wales border Chester is the County town of Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77040 The L postcode area, also known as the Liverpool postcode area, is a group of postal districts in Merseyside and Lancashire, specifically around Bootle Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary The, also known as the Wigan postcode area, is a group of postal districts in North West England that are sub-divisions of three Post towns It covers parts Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester The, also known as the Bolton postcode area, is a group of postal districts around the towns of Bolton and Bury in Greater Manchester, Bolton ( is a large town in Greater Manchester, in the North West region of England. The, also known as the Blackburn postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Accrington, Barnoldswick, Blackburn, Burnley Blackburn ( is a large town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley The LA postcode area, also known as the Lancaster postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Ambleside, Askam-in-Furness, Barrow-in-Furness The, also known as the Hull postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Beverley, Brough, Cottingham, Hessle, Hornsea Kingston upon Hull ( almost invariably referred The, also known as the Sunderland postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Peterlee, Seaham and Sunderland in Tyne and Wear Sunderland (, or /ˈsʌn(dlən/ is a City in Tyne and Wear, England. The, also known as the Durham postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Chester le Street, Consett, Durham, Houghton le Spring Durham (ˈdʌrəm in RP, locally ˈdʏrəm is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham, England The NE postcode area, also known as the Newcastle upon Tyne postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Alnwick, Ashington, Bamburgh Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England The, also known as the Glasgow postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Alexandria, Clydebank, Dumbarton, Glasgow and Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom The, also known as the Aberdeen postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Aberdeen, Aberlour, Aboyne, Alford, Ballater Aberdeen ( pronounced; Aiberdeen Obar Dheathain is Scotland 's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council ^[12]

Marketing

Asda is known for two famous marketing campaigns. In the "Asda price" campaign, [3] customers tap their trouser pocket twice, producing a 'chinking' sound as the coins that Asda's low prices have supposedly left in their pockets knock together. Hattie Jacques featured in adverts for ASDA in the early 1980s. Josephine Edwina Jaques ( 7 February 1922 &ndash 6 October 1980) was a well-known English Comedy actress In the late 1980s, prior to the reintroduction of the tap pocket campaign, advertising for Asda had featured the Fairground Attraction song Perfect. Fairground Attraction was a Scottish acoustic pop band, best-known for its hit single " Perfect " and Perfect was Fairground Attraction 's first single released in 1988. In 2004, Sharon Osbourne was selected to be part of a new marketing campaign by Asda; her last advert was aired in August 2005. Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, previously Arden; born 9 October 1952) is an English Music manager and promoter In the smiley face "rollback" campaign, also used in Wal-Mart advertisements, a CGI smiley face bounces from price tag to price tag, knocking them down as customers watch. Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics The focus of these campaigns is to portray Asda as the most affordable supermarket in the country, a claim that is challenged by competitors, especially Aldi. For similarly named settlements see Aldie, short for " AL brecht DI scount" is a Discount Supermarket Currently in Asda advertising is a theme featuring singing children and the previous tap of the trouser pocket advertising was reduced to a double-tap on a stylized 'A', still producing the 'chinking' sound. This has included an advert during the 2006 FIFA World Cup featuring the England footballer Michael Owen in an advert with the children singing Vindaloo. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament The English national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English football player who currently plays for and captains Newcastle United " Vindaloo " is a song by Fat Les, released as a single in 1998 and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The latest advertising campaign has done away with the rollback hook in favour of featuring celebrities Victoria Wood and Paul Whitehouse(amongst others) working as Asda employees. Victoria Wood CBE (born 19 May 1953 in Prestwich, Lancashire) is a BAFTA award winning English Comedian Paul Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958 is a British Comedian and actor

Asda has been winner of the Grocer Magazine "Lowest Price Supermarket" Award for the past 10 years^[13], and uses this to promote itself across the UK. In August 2005, rival supermarket chain Tesco challenged Asda's ability to use the claim that it was the cheapest supermarket in the country, by complaining to the Advertising Standards Agency. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain The ASA upheld the complaint^[14] and ordered Asda to stop using it, citing that the Grocer Magazine survey was based on limited and unrepresentative evidence as it examined the price of just 33 products, and that the survey did not study low-cost supermarkets such as Aldi. For similarly named settlements see Aldie, short for " AL brecht DI scount" is a Discount Supermarket As a result Asda no longer cites itself as "Officially Britain's lowest priced supermarket", instead using "Winner: Britain's lowest price supermarket award".

For Christmas 2007 Asda reintroduced the "That's Asda price" slogan [4] as well as the infamous 'jingle' to some of its adverts although this was overshadowed by the celebrity endorsed "There's no place like Asda".

Starting in 2008, Asda have been returning to its roots and is now re-focusing on price with its new "Why Pay More" campaign both on TV and in stores. Current Asda tv commercials in February 2008 focus on price comparisons between Asda and its rivals, using the "Why Pay More" slogan and old Dad's Army theme tune. The old Asda jingle has once again been removed. adverts.

Asda advertising slogans

"That's Asda Price"

"Permanently low prices forever"

"All together better"

"Always low prices"

"More for you for Less"

"There's no place like Asda"

"Why pay more"

Sponsorship

• Asda sponsored English football team Sheffield Wednesday during the early 1990s. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
• Asda currently sponsor a stand in Prenton Park, home of English football team Tranmere Rovers. Prenton Park is a multi-use Stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Tranmere Rovers Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League One and based at Prenton Park, Tranmere
• Asda currently sponsor the Asda stand at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea, home of Welsh football team Swansea City F.C. and Welsh Rugby Union regional team Ospreys Rugby Club. Swansea ( Abertawe "mouth of the Tawe " is a city and county in Wales. Swansea City AFC ( Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh football team playing in the Coca Cola Championship from The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU ( Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of Rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board

Employee relations

Asda has featured prominently in lists of "Best companies to work for", appearing in second place in the Times newspaper list for 2005 (although very few, if any, employees at grass-roots level were asked for their opinion)^[15]. It offers staff a discount of 10% on most items (exceptions include fuel, stamps, lottery, giftcards and tobacco related items)^[16]

On "double discount day", in December 2005, Asda temporarily increased the staff discount to 20%, but excluded alcoholic drinks from the extra discount for reasons of "operational profit protection". Discounts and allowancesIn Finance and Economics, discounting is the process of finding the present value of an amount of cash at some future date and along with In 2007 Asda chose to allow staff up to £100 off alcohol before discounts. They were also allowed to purchase items from George with 20% off. However, during this "double discount day", all edible and most non-edible grocery products and electrical items (excluding digital cameras) were not included. The GMB Union attempted to get Tesco to offer a similar discount to Asda staff as a publicity stunt, and Asda subsequently included these products in the extra discount, but with a maximum spend of £100, down from £250 in the years before the alterations. Template talkInfobox Union for usage -->The GMB is a general Trade union in the United Kingdom Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain A publicity stunt is an event designed to attract the public 's attention to the promoters or their causes While the reinstatement of the discount was intended to be a publicity stunt that improved colleague relations, it resulted in further bitter feelings. A publicity stunt is an event designed to attract the public 's attention to the promoters or their causes This was due to the fact that in the years previously, music albums, singles, DVDs, videos and videogames had been included in the discount day, but were not reinstated with the rest of the discount after Asda backed down. An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. ^[17]

Trade union relations

In August 2005, the manager of the Wakefield depot read out what were called "foreign-sounding" names over the public address system ordering them to report immediately to the manager's office. Wakefield lies at the heart of the City of Wakefield, a Metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The workers, who were all Muslims, were ordered to produce evidence that they were not illegal immigrants. At least one was threatened with the sack unless he produced his passport the next day. The highly public initiative by management, which came within weeks of the 7 July bombings in London, was followed by a spate of graffiti at the depot in Wakefield expressing hatred and contempt for Muslims and their religion. The 7 July 2005 London bombings (also called the 7/7 bombings) were a series of coordinated bomb blasts that hit London's public transport system during London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. ^[18]

In February 2006, Asda was fined £850,000 for offering employees of a newly taken over distribution depot a pay rise to give up union rights. An employment tribunal found the American-owned supermarket chain guilty of promising 340 distribution staff a 10 per cent pay rise to give up the collective agreement negotiated by the GMB union – an act which is illegal under a 1992 labour relations law. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation Act 1992 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates the operation of Trade unions and Industrial action The court ordered Asda to pay £2,500 to each employee at the County Durham depot. ^[19]

In June 2006, GMB Union members at the company's UK distribution depots agreed to strike for five days from 30 June 2006. Template talkInfobox Union for usage -->The GMB is a general Trade union in the United Kingdom Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The two sides failed to agree on how many of Asda's 12,500 depot workers belong to the union across its 24 depots around the UK. The GMB claimed the figure as 7,000, but Asda claimed the number was nearer 4,500. The depots affected include Bedford, Chepstow, Dartford, Didcot, Erith, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Ince George in Wigan, Lymedale (in Staffordshire), Lutterworth, Portbury, Skelmersdale, Teesport, Wakefield, and Washington. Bedford is the County town of Bedfordshire, England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the Bedford borough Chepstow (Cas-gwent is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, 16 miles (25 km east south-east Didcot is a Town in the Thames Valley, in the English county of Oxfordshire (although formerly in Berkshire) Erith ( ˈɪərɨθ is a place in the London Borough of Bexley, south east London on the River Thames. Falkirk is also the name of the Scottish council area centred on the town see Falkirk (council area. Grangemouth is a town and former Burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland, and formerly in the County of Stirling. Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Lutterworth is a Market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. Portbury is a village in North Somerset, England. Location It is situated at the north-eastern end of the Gordano valley near the Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest Teesport is a large Sea port located in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire in North-East Wakefield lies at the heart of the City of Wakefield, a Metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. Washington is a town within the Metropolitan borough of the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. ^[20] ASDA threatened legal action, citing flaws in the ballot process, but after discussion at the TUC, an agreement was reached for a national level consultative body and the strike called off. The Trades Union Congress (TUC is a national trade union centre, a federation of Trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade ^[21]

Online

ASDA launched its online retailer service in 1998, but from the start had over-estimated demand. Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the Internet. It began with a dedicated depot based in Croydon, South London, but this was closed with a number of redundancies shortly after as sales were lower than expected. Croydon is a large town and major commercial centre in South London, and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Croydon. Layoff is the temporary suspension or permanent Termination of employment of an Employee or (more commonly a group of employees for Business reasons It continued the online service, but emulated the Tesco store-based model instead.

Since the roll-out of the grocery delivery operation Asda has moved into non-food online retailing. Current categories include entertainment, contact lenses, furniture, travel, electricals, gifts, mobile phones and flowers, with more categories being launched each year.

In May 2004 it announced a major expansion of the service which will increase coverage from 30% of the UK population to 35%. The Grocer magazine reported a turnaround in the fortunes of Asda's home shopping service under new head of Home Shopping, Richard Ramsden. The Grocer is a British market leading Magazine devoted to grocery sales, published by William Reed Business Media More recently, Asda stepped up its commitment to home shopping, focusing on full UK coverage by the end of 2007. Andy Bond highlighted that Asda will be recruiting up to 1,800 new staff to bolster its operations and focus on competing with Tesco in the online arena.

In January 2007, Asda lauched www.asda-electricals.co.uk to compete with Tesco's highly successful Tesco Direct. This new venture is part of its online business, with more than 3,000 domestic and home electrical products. Asda's long term ambition to capture 5% of the £1. 9bn market by 2012. Recently, the company sold its Durabrand 1005 DVD player for only £9, the UK's lowest priced DVD player, which sold out in just two days from start of the promotion.

Asda Smart Price

Asda Smart Price is a no-frills private label trade name. The range is in many ways the UK equivalent of the generic brands in US stores. The equivalents from the other of the big four supermarkets are Tesco Value, Sainsbury's Basics and Morrisons Value.

The Smart Price brand can trace its origins to Asda’s Farm Stores brand launched in the mid 1990s, it consisted of products that were offered at a lower price than the equivalent name brand product and ASDA’s own brand equivalent. The Farm Stores brand originally consisted of a small number of food only products, largely frozen such as frozen chips and a small range of ready meals, this range later expanded to include fresh food. In 2000 following the acquisition of Asda by Wal-Mart, the Farm Stores products were phased out and replaced with the new Smart Price brand "based on Wal-Mart's Great Value and Sam's Choice".

Smart Price products are almost always the lowest price option (known as Cheapest On Display) in a product category in Asda stores. Occasionally this difference is only a few pence, however in others it is a marked difference. For example, a box of Smart Price Biological Washing Powder costs 50 pence while the equivalent Asda brand washing powder costs £1. 50 and name brand alternatives cost from two pounds upwards.

The Smart Price label was originally a food only brand, however over the years it has expanded to cover almost every product range in the store. Like early generic products in the US some Smart Price products lack what can be thought of as ‘frills’ in the modern brand name or supermarket own brand, for example the Smart Price toothpaste has an old fashioned screw cap rather than the now more common flip cap and the Smart Price range of crisps come in traditional clear plastic bags rather than the foil bags common to most name brand versions.

A lot of these products are also sourced from foreign sources.

The Smart Price brand name even has its own groups (or fan clubs) on MySpace and Facebook. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and Facebook is a social networking Website launched on February 4 2004

ASDA reduced the price of a pack of ASDA Smartprice 8 thick pork sausages to 16p meaning a sausage was 2p each. It made the headlines in June 2008 as it was during a credit crunch with higher food prices and a higher cost of living.

Asda Financial Services

Asda has established a financial services division, following in the footsteps of Tesco, Sainsbury's and other retailers. Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain J Sainsbury plc ( is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd commonly known as Sainsbury's (also Sainsbury and JS) the third largest Asda simply attaches its own brand to products provided by other companies. Services they offer include insurance (provided by Norwich Union), credit cards (provided by GE Capital Bank) and loans (provided by The Funding Corporation). Norwich Union is an Insurance company in the UK. It is the biggest life-insurer in the UK and has a strong position in motor insurance GE Capital Bank is a brand of GE Consumer Finance, part of the General Electric Company. ^[22]

• 1997-Present: Voted Britain's lowest price supermarket in a survey by Grocer 33 Magazine.
• 2001, 2002, 2003 — Voted a top 10 UK employer by the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Employers Survey, although the merit of Asda being awarded such an award is contested by the GMB. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
• 2002 Nestlé Social Commitment Award, awarded by peers in the food industry

Ethical trading

In 2006, a group of labour rights organisations argued that as part of one of the world's largest companies, Asda is in a position to influence the fashion industry to ensure higher standards for workers throughout the supply chain. Asda has signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which respects workers rights for freedom of association and a living wage. The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI is an alliance of companies Non-governmental organisations (NGOs and trade union organisations promoting Ethical consumerism. Implementing this initiative is difficult, however, because the concept of a living wage varies between countries and the buying strategies of a major importer like Asda have an indirect impact on national minimum wages by obliging governments to set them low enough to stop businesses from going elsewhere. ^[23]

See also

• 2007 UK petrol contamination
• Supermarkets in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Asda corporate website
• Asda Travel
• Asda Entertainment
• Asda Finance Website
• Asda "Welcome to our stores" brochurePDF (2. 17 MiB)

A mebibyte (a contraction of me ga bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, abbreviated MiB.

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