// Asda will create 10,000 new jobs as it pushes ahead with its target of opening 300 Asda Express convenience stores by the end of 2026
// Its second Asda Express store opened at Tottenham Hale in London this morning
Asda is to create 10,000 new jobs over the next four years as it sets about rolling out its new Asda Express convenience store format.
The grocer opened its second Asda Express format today in Tottenham Hale, London and will open 300 more by the end of 2026 as it looks to convenience to drive growth at the business.
Sales in the convenience store sector are set to grow 13% to more than £50 billion by 2027 therefore Asda owners, the Issa brothers, have put it at the heart of their plan to overtake Sainsbury’s as the UK’s second largest supermarket.
The grocer is focusing its convenience expansion to neighbourhoods and residential settings where there is not an Asda store nearby.
The second Express store, which followed the format’s debut in Sutton Coldfield last month, opened its doors as part of a residential development in Tottenham Hale, adjacent to the tube and overground station.
It has also secured new locations in Wiltshire, Essex and Surrey that will open in 2023.
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The Asda Express format is designed to cater for a broad range of customer needs, including ‘top up’ shops for essential items such as milk and bread, grabbing lunch on the go, or buying the fresh ingredients to cook dinner from scratch.
The stores will stock around 3,000 products, including fresh, ambient and chilled groceries, as well as products from Asda’s premium Extra Special range and a broad selection of alcohol.
The stores will also sell hot and cold ‘food for now’ options from Asda and third brands including Leon, as well as ‘food for later’ options such as ready meals, pizzas, stir fry’s and a selection of £10 meal deals for two.
Asda’s ‘toyou’ parcel collection and return services and a rapid delivery service through Uber Eats will also be available in selected stores.
Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa said: “A key part of our growth strategy is to provide customers with more opportunities to shop at Asda closer to where they live or work.
“With more than three quarters of the UK population visiting a convenience store in the last 12 months, the potential for growth in this market is significant.
“Our ambition is to become the convenience destination of choice by providing shoppers great value and a comprehensive and convenient range of products and services under one roof.”
The target of 300 Asda Express stores by the end of 2026 does not include the 132 convenience stores Asda is acquiring from the Co-op. This deal is currently being reviewed by the CMA.
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