As of January 2017, ‘Asda superstores’ accounted for 339 of the company's total 631 UK stores. Asda, which is a subsidiary of the U.S. company
Walmart is one of the cornerstones of the UK supermarket landscape and
has been in close competition with Sainsbury’s for the place of runner-up to Tesco on the Grocery market.
Asda store portfolio
Asda Supercenters are large hypermarkets, while Asda Superstores are large scale Supermarkets with a considerable range of non-food products and adjacent services like petrol filling stations, diners, cafes and other amenities. The majority of Asda Supermarkets stem from the acquisition of the Danish discount retailer Netto in 2010. Asda Living is the company’s general merchandise store.
Failed Sainsbury’s merger
As of March 2018, Asda’s close competitor
Sainsbury’s operated 608 Supermarkets. The company attempted a merger with Asda to close the gap to the market leader Tesco. In April 2019, the attempt was blocked by the UK’s competition watchdog, which feared price increases and a reduced product variety for consumers.