Asda Reports Bumper Christmas Sales

From The Guardian:

Asda said today its Christmas sales had beaten its expectations, thanks to record trading on Saturday December 22 and bumper online sales.

The supermarket chain, owned by the US giant Wal-Mart, did not release any figures but its chief executive, Andy Bond, said the food business had been “re-invigorated” with better quality produce and more premium and organic ranges.

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Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Monday, March 05 | 0 comments | Permalink

The Campaign Against Waste: Asda’s Packaging Cover-Up

From The Independent:

There’s something faintly environmental about the Asda superstore at Pudsey in West Yorkshire. Maybe it’s the dashing green fleeces the staff wear; or perhaps the store’s vast glass atrium, which looks big enough to turn the entire chain carbon-neutral if someone was minded to slap on a few solar panels.

But the unexpected air of sustainability does not stretch to the fruit and veg. Apples, mushrooms, broccoli and spinach all sit on plastic trays, tightly wrapped in plastic, and so too do the “British baby turnips"- delicately nurtured only to be encased, eight at a time, in a tub.

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Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Monday, March 05 | 0 comments | Permalink

Asda Pledges To Cut Food Packaging

From Financial Times:

Asda fired the latest volley in the battle between supermarkets to be seen as green by pledging to reduce packaging on its own-label food by a quarter within a year. The initiative follows announcements by Tesco to introduce “carbon labelling” on packaging and Marks and Spencer’s promise to become “carbon neutral”.

Asda said it hoped to “virtually eliminate” packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables, which would be sold loose from boxes, helping to cut down on the waste sent to landfill sites by its customers. The chain is committed to stop sending its own waste to landfill by 2010.

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Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Monday, March 05 | 0 comments | Permalink

Sunday Times: Wal-Mart Plots To Scupper US Tesco

From the Sunday Times:

Supermarket giant Wal-Mart has charged a former Tesco executive to come up with plans to torpedo the British group’s debut in America.

Tesco intends to make its US entry later this year with a chain called Fresh & Easy. Wal-Mart’s response is coordinated by David Wild, a former international managing director of Tesco, now working at Wal-Mart’s Arkansas headquarters.

Among the options being considered is the launch of rival stores or adapting existing Wal-Marts to take on Tesco’s planned green mini-supermarkets.

Fresh & Easy will not use Tesco’s familiar red, white and blue livery. Its logo is a green clock superimposed on an apple.

Exact plans are still under wraps, but it has been suggested that Tesco will open with 20 stores in Phoenix, Arizona, before rolling out across the West Coast.

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Posted by Russ Fagaly on Monday, March 05 | 1 comments | Permalink

Wide World of Wal-Mart

In addition to announcing expansion in China, Wal-Mart is also seeking to extend its reach elsewhere in the world. Here’s a recap of today’s other international news.

From Reuters via the New York Times:

Asda, the British grocer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., could counterbid for J. Sainsbury should a private equity consortium launch an offer for Britain’s number three supermarket owner, Citigroup analysts believe.

Also from Reuters via the New York Times:

India’s ruling Congress party was heading for defeat in polls in the states of Punjab and Uttarakhand on Tuesday, in elections seen as reflecting wider voter concern about inflation and economic reforms…

The government has also taken flak for moves to set up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by acquiring farmland and to open the retail sector further to foreign players such as Wal-Mart.

From the Economic Times, United Kingdom:

With the PMO calling for a study to assess the impact of large retailers—be it foreign or domestic—domestic retailers are trying to distance themselves from their foreign counterparts. Clearly not very happy at being tarred with the same brush as international chains, they say they should not be treated at par with the likes of Wal-Mart and Tesco.

From Reuters:

Russian hypermarket chain Karusel is in sale talks with U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, two sources close to the Russian company told Reuters on Tuesday."An investment bank hired by the owners of Karusel is holding negotiations with Wal-Mart,” one of the sources said.

  • Click here to learn more about Wal-Mart’s international expansion.

Posted by Russ Fagaly on Tuesday, February 27 | 1 comments | Permalink

Wal-Mart Expands Its International Reach

This week Wal-Mart announced expansion plans in the United Kingdom and Costa Rica, and furthered its attempts to enter the Indian retail market. Here’s a round up.

From Bloomberg News:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda plans to build at least 18 stores across the U.K. this year as it defends its position as the country’s second-largest supermarket chain.

The grocer will also extend and improve 15 outlets and add its non-food Asda Living format to 10 stores in the next year, contributing to the creation of 8,000 jobs, Leeds, England-based Asda said today in an e-mailed statement. Asda currently has about 300 stores in the U.K. compared with the 1,900 outlets operated by Tesco Plc, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain.

From MarketWatch:

The company will also undertake major extensions and improvements to 15 of its existing stores and roll out its non-food format, Asda Living, to a further 10 sites, Asda President and Chief Executive Andy Bond said in a statement ahead of a media briefing in London. Asda also said it plans to open its first Living Store in Belfast on Friday.

From Reuters via CNNMoney.com:

U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will spend $49 million to open 14 new stores in Costa Rica this year, the company said Tuesday. The new stores will create 1,500 new jobs in the Central American country, Wal-Mart said.

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Posted by Russ Fagaly on Wednesday, February 21 | 1 comments | Permalink

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