Asda to surpass 500 units this year

Completion of a previously announced acquisition combined with organic growth will result in the addition of 168 stores to Asda’s existing 386 units and push Walmart’s U.K. division past the 500-unit mark.

The company announced that it had received confirmation for the U.K.’s Office of Fair Trading that its plan to acquire 147 Netto stores would not be referred to the Competition Commission. The acquisition, first announced last May, will add about 1.2 million sq. ft. of space with another 550,000 sq. ft. of space coming in the form of 21 new stores. The combination will result in a total of 168 stores and 1.8 million sq. ft. of new space marking the largest single year of growth in Asda’s history.

The acquired Netto stores are considerably smaller than typical Asda stores and average around 8,000 sq. ft. Asda plans to increase the product assortments in the stores five fold once the acquisition is completed.