6th Jun 2005 08:07
ASDA Group Limited06 June 2005 ASDA TO BRING ITS 'EVERY DAY LOW PRICES' TO NORTHERN IRELAND SHOPPERS ASDA And Wm Morrison Plc Exchange Contracts For 12 Safeway Stores In N Ireland •All existing Safeway employees to be retained, with plans to create up to 250 new jobs by Christmas •Plans to invest £30m on modernisation and refurbishment, with local N Ireland building contractors set to win business •ASDA intends to continue working with all of Safeway's N Irish product suppliers to ensure existing ranges of local products are available in all its converted stores •ASDA's George clothing range introduced to N Ireland for first time. ASDA today confirmed that it had reached agreement with Wm Morrison Plc toacquire 12 existing Safeway stores in N Ireland. The deal is now subject toclearance by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Throughout its 40-year history, ASDA has led the way in lowering the cost ofliving for millions of people. Shoppers have benefited from its policy of'everyday low prices' regardless of where they live or the size of their localstore. The arrival of Britain's lowest price supermarket to N Ireland will ensure thatshoppers no longer have to pay more for their weekly shop than shoppers in therest of the UK. Unlike others, ASDA has made a commitment that its prices in its12 N Ireland ASDA stores will be no higher than those found in its 279 stores inEngland, Scotland and Wales. In addition ASDA has been voted Britain's lowest price supermarket for the lastseven years by influential trade magazine The Grocer, based on a typical basketof 33 everyday food items (Below are a few examples of how ASDA's prices compareto Tesco's and Sainsbury's in N Ireland, figures correct at 23 May 2005). Product ASDA Tesco % Sainsbury % Price N Ireland cheaper N Ireland cheaper Draft Guinnessper can* 73.2p 87.3p 16% 91.6p 20%Walker's VarietyPack Crisps x 24 £1.98 £2.74 28% £2.79 29%Persil ColourTablets 48s £3.60 £4.80 25% £4.80 24%Kelloggs JustRight 500g £1.48 £1.48 0% £2.09 29%Own label candlebulbs x 2 98p £1.08 9% £1.09 10% Percentage cheaper is a comparison between ASDA Price and competitor. Pricescorrect at 23 May 05. Since becoming part of Wal-Mart six years ago, ASDA has knocked more than£1billion off Britain's shopping bill by rolling back prices. The supermarkethas introduced thousands of products at prices previously unheard of in the UK,such as a pair of George jeans for £3, DVD players for £24.74, toasters from£5.67, two pillow cases and a double duvet for £7.97 and steam irons from £4.94. ASDA has also ensured drivers get a fair deal at the pump by being the firstretailer to drop fuel prices and the last to raise them. Last month, the dayafter ASDA had reduced prices by 2p a litre (23 May 2005), its average price fora litre of unleaded petrol in the UK was 81.4p, by comparison Sainsbury's inColeraine was 86.9p and Tesco in Antrim was 84.9p. Commenting on the announcement, ASDA's president Andy Bond said: "Opening ourfirst ever stores in N Ireland is a very exciting prospect for us and great newsfor local shoppers. For the first time we'll be able to bring real competitionto N Ireland by introducing our great value and unmatchable mix of food, generalmerchandise and George clothing." David Smith, ASDA's people director added: "We're also looking forward towelcoming all Safeway colleagues who, subject to approval by the OFT, will bejoining one of Europe's best employers. In the next few days a team of ASDAcolleagues will be out on the road visiting every Safeway store in N Ireland tostart the process of getting to know each other better." ASDA expects the conversion of all the Safeway stores to take around threemonths once the transaction is approved. ASDA also anticipates recruiting up to250 new colleagues by Christmas to help manage its George and generalmerchandise in the converted Safeway stores. As well as purchasing 12 stores, ASDA plans to invest more than £30 million onmodernisation and refurbishment over the next two years. ASDA anticipates thatthis work will be carried out by local N Ireland contractors. ASDA already works successfully with a number of key suppliers in N Ireland suchas ABP in Newry and Lurgan, and Linden Foods in Dungannon. These companies areat the forefront of the N Ireland cattle sector and account for more than 40% ofthe total output of the local beef industry. Together they support more than3,600 producers. In addition all of ASDA's half fat cheese is produced by NIreland dairy farmers in conjunction with Fayrefield in Belfast. The supermarket said it was enthusiastic about meeting representatives of thelocal agriculture sector in the coming weeks to further strengthen its ties withprimary producers. Dr Chris Brown, ASDA's agriculture strategy manager said: "Weare proud of the relationships we have built with all our suppliers andproducers - and we are looking forward to meeting local farmers and exploringnew sourcing opportunities." He also confirmed that ASDA intends to continue working with all of Safeway's NIrish product suppliers to ensure existing ranges of local products areavailable in all its converted stores. In addition ASDA will be looking for morelocal suppliers, following approval of the acquisition, to support its awardwinning local sourcing programme.Ends Further information: 0113 241 7829Out of hours, 0113 243 5435 Notes to editors: Safeway acquisition store details:- 12 existing stores: Dundonald (East Belfast), Cookstown (Mid Ulster),Omagh (West Tyrone), Enniskillen (Fermanagh & South Tyrone), Strabane (WestTyrone), Kilkeel (South Down), Shore Road (North Belfast), Newtownards(Strangford), Ballyclare (East Antrim), Coleraine (East Londonderry), Bangor(North Down), Westwood (West Belfast).ASDA already works with a number of key suppliers in N Ireland:- ABP, based in Newry and Lurgan support 3,650 local beef producers. In 2004, 110,130 cattle were procured for ASDA, equivalent to 25.3 % of total N Ireland beef industry's output. ABP employs 400 people in N Ireland with a turnover of £100million.- Linden Foods based in Dungannon employs 300 staff, and accounts for 18% of beef produced in N Ireland.- All ASDA's half fat cheese is supplied by Fayrefield in Belfast.- Ormo soda farls and soda breads are currently sold in 263 ASDA stores in England, Scotland and Wales.- Paul Rankin's soda breads and potato farls are sold in 191 ASDA stores. ASDA was formed when two separate companies, Associated Dairies and the Asquithbrothers' supermarket chain Queen's, came together in 1965. ASDA Stores Ltd wascreated, a supermarket committed to offering its customers 'permanently lowprices'. The modern day ASDA has 279 stores and 24 depots across the UK and has been partof the Wal-Mart family since 1999. We offer Britain's best value weekly shopwith prices that are independently shown to be lower than our main competitorswith an excellent mix of fresh food, grocery, clothing, home, leisure andentertainment goods. We employ 148,000 colleagues who have a well-deserved reputation for being thebest and the friendliest in the industry. Our stores are all 'Stores of theCommunity', playing a positive part in all aspects of life in their localcommunity. They actively seek new local suppliers, work with local emergencyservices and citizens advice, and raise millions each year for local andnational charities. For the fifth year running ASDA has been voted one of the UK's top employers bythe Sunday Times. ASDA was voted Best National Retailer in the BBC Radio 4 Foodand Farming Awards last November *Guinness prices - ASDA 15 x 440ml £10.98, Tesco 12 pack £10.48 and Sainsbury 12pack £10.99. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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