Is Asda leaving Walmart?

Asda, the UK’s second-largest supermarket, is in talks to leave its US owner Walmart and go it alone.

The move would mark a major shift in the UK grocery market, which is already under pressure from discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Asda has been part of Walmart since 1999, when the US retail giant bought a majority stake in the UK company for $10bn (£7.7bn).

But the two companies have been increasingly diverging in recent years, with Walmart focusing on its own US operations and Asda struggling to compete with its rivals in the UK.

The talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee that a deal will be done. But if Asda does leave Walmart, it would be a seismic event in the UK grocery market.

Asda has been struggling to keep up with its rivals in the UK
Asda was founded in 1949 by a group of farmers from Yorkshire who wanted to sell food direct to consumers at prices that were lower than those of the big Supermarkets.

It was originally known as Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Ltd but was renamed Asda Stores Ltd in 1965.

The company grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s, becoming one of the “big four” Supermarkets alongside Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Safeway (now Morrisons).

Asda was acquired by Walmart in 1999 for $10bn (£7.7bn)
In 1999, Asda was acquired by Walmart for $10bn (£7. The deal made Walmart the largest shareholder in Asda, with a majority stake of 58%.

Since then, Asda has been run as a separate business within the wider Walmart group. But there have been increasing signs that the two companies are on divergent paths.

Walmart has been focusing on its own US operations in recent years while Asda has struggled to keep up with its rivals in the UK grocery market. In 2016, Asda reported its first fall in annual sales for 20 years.

The two companies have also been at loggerheads over how to respond to the rise of Amazon. While Walmart has been investing heavily in online shopping, Asda has been more circumspect due to concerns about cannibalising its own sales.

Is Asda leaving Walmart?

It is still unknown whether or not Asda will be leaving Walmart but if they do it would be a huge shift int he UK grocery market

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