UK retailer Asda has confirmed this week that it is set to open some 168 new stores in 2011, adding 1.8m ft2 of retail food space, in what it has said is the largest single year of growth in the company's history.
The Walmart-owned supermarket group revealed that the additional space is a combination of planned organic growth and the acquisition of 147 Netto stores, with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) confirming that it was not referring Asda's acquisition of the discounter's UK stores to the Competition Commission.
Asda's deal with Dansk Supermarked A/S to purchase Netto's 194 UK stores was agreed in May last year, with the OFT ratifying the move on condition that the group offloads a portion of the Netto portfolio across 47 local areas.
Morrisons, Iceland and the Haldanes Group have agreed to take on 25 of these stores, according to the Wall Street Journal, with Asda still to divest stores in 22 further areas.
Asda's converted Netto stores will trade under the Asda Supermarkets banner and will average 8,000ft2 in size, while an additional 550ft2 of space will be added organically in 2011, including the opening of seven new Asda Superstores, four Asda Livings, 10 Asda Supermarkets and five extensions to existing stores.
'The combination of acquiring 147 Netto stores together with our organic growth plans means we will be able to save customers more money than ever before,' said Judith McKenna, Asda's chief financial officer. 'We'll also create 1,500 jobs as we convert all of the Netto stores into Asda Supermarkets.'
In total, Asda is set to invest more than £100m (€116.4m) in capital converting the stores, with first former Netto outlets expected to open in May.
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