Supermarket giant to roll out Asda Express convenience stores across UK

Leeds-headquartered Asda has revealed plans to open its first two standalone convenience stores before Christmas, under a new “Asda Express” brand.

Asda plans to launch a further 30 sites, creating about 500 new roles, next year, as part of a pilot approach to developing its convenience model.

With sales in convenience stores forecast to grow by 13% to over £50bn by 2027, Asda believes it has a significant opportunity to grow sales and market share in a sector where it currently has a limited presence.

Both the new Asda Express stores – which are in the West Midlands and North London – are purpose built and situated in residential areas.

Each store will stock around 3,000 products, including a range of fresh, ambient and chilled groceries, as well as products from the chain’s premium Extra Special range and a broad selection of beers, wines and spirits.

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.”

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.

This transaction is expected to complete at the end of this month and will then go through the Competition and Markets Authority’s review process.