By Ian Walker
LONDON--Asda, the U.K.'s second largest supermarket retailer by
market share, Thursday reported a 0.5% rise in like-for-like sales
for the 10 weeks to June 30 and said its online market share has
increased to 18.4%, driven by the expansion of 'Click and Collect'
which now accounts for 10% of all online orders.
The company said it expects 'Click and Collect', whereby
shoppers buy their items online and pick them up themselves, to
treble over the next five years with 30% of all orders expected to
be collected in Asda stores.
With this in mind, the retailer said it is continuing to
innovate and develop its offer, and in the last three months has
extended the hours customers are able to collect their shopping on
a Sunday by four hours, driving a 20% increase on the day's
orders.
Asda, which is owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said it opened
three new superstores and two supermarkets during the second
quarter and plans three more in the third quarter. It currently has
more than 500 stores throughout the U.K.
Speaking at a briefing in London, Andy Clarke, president and
chief executive officer, said: "I am pleased with our performance
in the quarter and our business has shown that it is well
positioned to meet the demands of a challenging market."
"Innovation, low prices and customer service remain at the heart
of our business and over the coming months and years we will
continue to implement and build on this successful strategy as we
constantly look at new and improved ways to run our business," Mr.
Clarke said.
Asda has a 17% share of the U.K. grocery market, according to
the latest data from Kantar which monitors the household grocery
purchasing habits of 25,000 demographically representative
households in the U.K. Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) is the leader with
28.9%, while J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) ranks third with 16.6%.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Tesco Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=GB0008847096
Access Investor Kit for J Sainsbury Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=GB00B019KW72
Access Investor Kit for J Sainsbury Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US4662492085
Access Investor Kit for Tesco Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US8815753020
Access Investor Kit for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US9311421039