UK retailer Asda is 'on track' to hit a store count of 1,000 in the UK and Northern Ireland by March 2024, the retailer said in a statement.
The retailer opened 81 new Asda Express stores in December, as it seeks to reach out to shoppers in more areas ahead of Christmas.
The total number of Asda Express outlets across the UK has reached 229, following the conversion of stores acquired from Co-op and EG UK and the opening of eight standalone Asda Express stores.
Asda aims to complete the conversion of the remaining 254 sites by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
'A Herculean Effort'
Andy Perry, managing director of convenience at Asda, said, “It has been a Herculean effort by the teams involved in our Asda Express rollout to convert 81 stores in one month as part of our commitment to bringing Asda’s great value offer to even more communities.”
Some of Asda's latest openings include its first convenience store in Manchester city centre and three new London stores in Romford, Acton and Ealing.
Next year, the retailer plans to open another 11 Express stores in the capital, as it looks to expand its footprint in an area where it says it has traditionally been underrepresented.
Asda Express offers up to 3,000 branded and own-label products to suit a broad range of customer needs, including ‘top up’ shops for items such as milk and bread, on-the-go lunch, or cooking dinner from scratch.
Perry added, “Expansion into the growing convenience market is a key pillar of our long-term strategy to become the UK’s second-largest supermarket retailer – and we know how important Asda’s great value is to families managing cost-of-living pressures – especially in the run-up to Christmas.”
