All of the former Netto stores which were purchased by leading UK supermarket Asda will have been successfully re-branded by next week, it was confirmed today.
Now trading under the Asda Supermarket smaller store size format, each of the 147 refurbished outlets took on average two weeks to transform since the first units in Wakefield and Worksop undertook the process in May 2011.
Around 2,500 new roles have been created at the supermarket chain, with 1,800 ex-Netto staff members being re-employed by Asda, and the converted outlets have so far served over 500,000 customers.
Karen Hubbard, Asda‘s Director of Store Proposition, said: “We knew when we set out on this journey that our goal to convert the Netto estate in such a short space of time was ambitious.
“It‘s testament to the hard work and total dedication of the colleagues working on this programme that we have delivered on time, to budget and exceeded our own high expectations with these new stores.”
Asda‘s owner US retailing giant Walmart is to announce third-quarter results later today, describing a period that has seen limited sales and increased price cuts from all of the leading grocers in the UK.
Second quarter trading reported in August showed flat sales and a drop in operating profit for Asda due to the refurbishment work being carried out.
Whilst Asda has shied away from openly embracing a move into convenience store retailing, unlike all of its main competitors, it is clear that the Asda Supermarket brand does represent a different format to the usually larger superstores it specialises in.
Hubbard continued: “The feedback from our supermarket customers has been fantastic, as they enjoy having the opportunity to complete a weekly shop, close to home, at the same low prices they would find in one of our larger stores.”
