What the background story of ASDA?

Answer 1

sorry i don't know much but in America it is called Walmart. I hope this small bit of info helps.

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The origins of the ASDA Group were founded in the efforts of English dairy farmers to protect themselves from falling milk prices after World War One. When wartime price controls were lifted and Britain began to once again to import large quantities of European dairy products, local milk prices fell sharply and showed every sign of continuing to do so. Various legislative remedies were devised, but in the meantime a Yorkshire dairy farmer named J.W. Hindell led a number of his farming colleagues in the creation of Hindell's Dairy Farmers Limited. The 1920 partnership purposes was to acquire or build both wholesale and retail outlets for their milk, in that way securing for themselves a steady market and maintaining a minimum floor price.

During the next 25 years, Hindell's assembled a wide variety of dairy businesses, founding or purchasing a total of nine operating companies involved in everything from the raising of dairy cattle to the processing and distribution of milk and milk products, as well as the promotion of numerous cafes, retail milk shops, and bakeries.

By the time of World War Two, Hindell's, headoffice based in Leeds (where it still is), had extended its interests across the Midlands (Birmingham UK) and diversified as far as meatpacking and even the quarrying of lime. The partnership became a public company in March 1949, as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores Limited, which included some 26 farms, three dairies, two bakeries, 42 retail shops, and pork-butchering facilities. With 1,200 employees, Associated was already an important part of the relatively quiet economy of northern England.

The company opened stores in Scotland and Wales, and began casting about for opportunities to invest its growing cash reserves. In 1972, ASDA entered the travel agency business, in 1977 it had a go at furniture with its purchase of the Wade's stores, and at various times in the decade it tried its hand at a number of other diversions, none of them successful and all of them eventually eliminated. But longtime Chairman Noel Stockdale could hardly be concerned about these minor setbacks; quite reasonably, he did not try to fix what was not broken, but continued building more superstores across the northern half of the country. By 1978, ASDA had 60 of these, and two years later they passed the £1 billion sales mark.

It became apparent in the early 1990s that ASDA had perhaps bit off more than it could chew as debt related to the Gateway acquisition continued to grow. During 1991, Hardman the then CEO resigned amid a host of problems and Archie Norman was named his replacement. A 1991 Investors Chronicle article summed up ASDA's financial position, claiming the new CEO had "inherited a dangerously listing ship whose longer term future and prosperity are far from assured."

Under new leadership, ASDA spent the next several years restructuring company operations, revamping its brand image, broadening its product mix, and lowering its prices. Norman's efforts paid off--by 1995 pretax profits had increased by nearly three times over 1992's results. Success continued over the next several years, which prompted ASDA to once again seek out merger activity. The company turned to competitor Safeway plc in 1997, suggesting a union that would create the largest food retailer in the United Kingdom. The $14.5 billion deal fell through later that year.

ASDA opened its first store under the Wal-Mart banner in 2000 and launched Smart Price, a new brand based on Wal-Mart's Great Value and Sam's Choice well known brands.

By 2003, it had usurped competitor J Sainsbury plc from its number two position in the U.K. food retailing market. It hoped to grow even larger by adding 70 Safeway stores to its arsenal. The bidding process for Safeway was subject to a variety of regulatory issues, however, and ASDA eventually lost out to Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc. As a whole, the European retail sector was expected to experience a wave of consolidation in the coming years. With Wal-Mart--whose fiscal 2004 sales were $256.3 billion--as a parent, ASDA appeared to have a bright future.