Florent Lefortier answered
Asda, the British supermarket chain, can be traced back to 1949, when it formed (in Leeds) as Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Limited.
The History of Asda
The History of Asda
- The name “Asda” wasn’t used until 1965, when Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Limited merged with Asquith. The company name comes from blending “Asquith” with “Dairies”.
- In the early days, most of the Asda stores were located in the north of England, but they spread south in 1989 by buying their rival chain, Gateway Superstores, for £705 milion.
- After this, Asda started expanding a bit too fast, and tried to cover too much ground at once. Because of this, the beginning of the ‘90s was difficult for the company.
- Archie Norman – a man who would go on to become a Conservative MP – became involved in the leadership of the company in 1991, and helped them out of a financial tight-spot by modelling the company on the American retail giant Wal-Mart.
- In 1999, Wal-Mart actually bought Asda, paying a mighty £6.7 billion for the company.
- Asda continues to expand at a rapid pace, mainly by buying out their competition. A good example of this is the purchasing and re-branding of all Netto stores - turning them into Asda stores - that took place in 2010.
