What It Does: Asda is into large-scale retail with a big chain of stores that sell groceries and household items. This company is also into telecommunications (Asda Mobile) as well as financial services (Asda Money), and Oil and Gas (Asda Petrol).
Mission: Asda’s mission is to be the best retailer in Britain and exceeds customers’ needs.
Size and Presence: Asda’s massive workforce comprises over 145,000 employees across 633 stores and offices across the country. The company has more than 18 million customers.
Best Known For: Asda is one of the three largest retailers in the UK. Though Asda is involved in different business areas, it’s best known for its retail business. At the 2021 edition of the Quality Food Awards, Asda won the Retailer of the Year, which marks its third time winning that award.
The Good Bits: Asda has a great working environment, and it's widely recognised as one of the top employers in the country. The company also offer nice incentives in addition to basic compensation.
The Not-So-Good Bits: The job is very demanding.
Asda’s history goes back to the 20th century with the Asquith Family. Peter and Fred Asquith became the co-founders of Asda. In 1963, these brothers used an old cinema in Castleford as their first superstore. They soon established another one in Edlington. Both stores operated under the “Queens” name. The third store was established in South Elmsall. In 1965, the Asquith siblings struck a deal with Associated Diaries to operate their butchery departments across their growing chain of stores. Soon after, both businesses were merged and named Asda. The newly created company soon became renowned for its low-cost, large-scale retail stores.
In the 70s, Asda had already established 30 stores in Northern England, so it turned its attention to the southern region. The company opened stores in Devon, Plymouth, Hampshire, and Gosport. In 1999, Walmart acquired Asda for £6.7 billion. Asda acquired 12 stores in Northern Ireland, breaking into the country's retail market. Ten years after its takeover, Walmart sold Asda to Corinth Services Limited, but the company remained a subsidiary of Walmart because Corinth was also owned by Walmart. In 2010, Asda acquired Netto Supermarket Chain. In early 2021, Asda was jointly acquired by Mohsin and Zuber Issa and TDR Capital, but Walmart retained an equity investment in the company.
Asda is a value-driven organisation. Its culture is built on Service to Customers, Acting with Integrity, Respect for Individuals, and Striving for Excellence. The company values the input of its employees and factors it into its decision-making. Asda also fosters a healthy working atmosphere by encouraging collaboration among its employees. Asda ensures its workforce reflects the communities it serves by championing diversity. So it hires competent fresh graduates regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, marital status, socioeconomic background, or sexuality. The firm has a laid-back policy on dressing, as there is no specific dress code for employees.
Asda offers learning and career development opportunities for its fresh graduates and interns to help them launch successful careers. Its Retail Graduate Programme introduces freshers to life at Asda and gives them real work experience. It comes with mentoring and training programs. The apprenticeship programme is designed to help school leavers build employment experience and earn the relevant qualifications at the same time. It's like opening the door to different career fields within the company. The best thing about Asda’s training programme is that you can earn while learning.
A fresher working at Asda earns an average salary of £22,500 annually.
Through the Asda Foundation, this company has given donations, grants, and other forms of assistance to local communities across the UK.
Asda made headlines for its legal dispute about equal pay in the UK Supreme Court.