ASDA is opening 30 new convenience stores which will create 500 new jobs, the supermarket announced.
The company plans to open its first two standalone stores before Christmas, under a new ‘Asda Express’ brand.
They will stock a range of hot and cold ‘food for now’ options from Asda and partner brands including Leon, plus ‘food for later’ choices such as ready meals and a selection of £10 meal deals for two people.
Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, called the launch a ‘landmark moment’ for the business.
The first express stores will open at Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, on November 8 and Tottenham Hale, London, on December 6, creating 37 new jobs.
They will stock around 3,000 products, including a comprehensive range of fresh, ambient and chilled groceries, as well as products from Asda’s premium Extra Special range and a broad selection of beers, wines and spirits.
Both stores are purpose built and in residential areas.
Next year the retailer plans to launch a further 30 sites, creating about 500 new roles, in a ‘test and learn’ approach to developing its convenience model.
Issa 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.
‘I’m delighted to welcome the new colleagues at Sutton Coldfield and Tottenham Hale to the Asda family – leading us on our first steps into this market and am grateful to all the colleagues who have worked with such pace and enthusiasm to bring this vision to life for Asda.’
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.
The transaction is expected to be completed at the end of this month and will then go through the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog’s competition review process.
