Supermarket chain Asda has exchanged contracts on a deal which will see it take control of the sourcing division of one of its largest suppliers GAAT, it was announced today.
Turkish-based GAAT is owned by privately run textiles company Türkmen Group, and was established in 1999 specifically to cater for Asda‘s burgeoning clothing brand George.
GAAT works with over 80 manufacturers to manage garment production on behalf of George in locations such as Sri Lanka and Egypt, and Asda claims that this acquisition will help it develop its supply operations further.
Andrew Moore, Executive Managing Director of George at Asda, commented: “This is a natural and exciting next step for the business and will help George become even more responsive in delivering style, quality and value as we expand here in the UK and elsewhere around the world.
“By bringing the GAAT team into the George, Asda and wider Walmart family, it enables us to underpin our quality, value and style credentials, extending our sourcing capabilities to satisfy supply demands from Walmart stores across the world, as we strive to become even more responsive to our customers”.
In 2009 Asda completed a similar acquisition, taking control of International Produce which now sources fruit and grocery items for the group‘s UK business as well as other countries where parent company Walmart trades.
The takeover of GAAT, which does not own any manufacturing or production capabilities but instead co-ordinates production, is expected to be concluded over the next quarter.
Atila Türkmen, chairman of the Türkmen group said: “We‘re all very excited about the prospects of the new stage in our relationship with George at Asda. Our dedicated and passionate team has always been proud of being part of the success story of George.
“I‘m confident that working as one team with George, Asda and Walmart colleagues, we are going to take George brand to new heights both in the UK and internationally”.
