Successful trials of the format in Bodmin, Cornwall, and Walthamstow, North London has prompted the expansion plan. The new stores would be between 15,000 and 30,000 sf, considerably smaller than the average 45,000 sf Asda outlet.
The move is intended to ensure the company, backed by Wal-Mart, can expand in an increasingly restrictive planning environment. With this in mind, Asda is targeting high-street stores in small towns where the group has been unable to obtain planning permission for its larger sites.
Asda is the last major supermarket chain in the UK to adopt the convenience store format. The concept has taken off dramatically since Tesco launched its Metro chain of high street convenience stores in the early 1990s. Retail consultancy Verdict estimates convenience store sales were worth £37 billion ($59 billion) in 2001 and expected to grow by at least 5% a year. The rewards for getting toehold in this market are potentially huge.
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