Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, first announced its intention to buy the UK’s third largest supermarket chain, Asda, in May 2018. The deal was finally completed in October of that year, and Walmart has owned Asda ever since.
The move was a controversial one, with many people concerned that Walmart would bring its own brand of low-cost, low-quality food to the UK market. However, Walmart has insisted that it has no plans to change the way Asda does business.
So far, it seems to be holding true to that promise – Asda’s prices are still among the lowest in the UK, and its quality standards have not slipped.
There have been some changes under Walmart’s ownership, however. One of the most notable is that Asda is now selling more own-brand products than ever before.
This is in line with Walmart’s strategy of selling more private-label items in its US stores, and it’s likely that we’ll see more of this in the future.
So how long has Walmart owned Asda? It’s been just over two years now, and so far it seems to be going well. Only time will tell if Walmart’s ownership will be good for Asda – and for UK shoppers – in the long run.
How long did Walmart own Asda? Just over two years.
